My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 592: Zhuge Brothers' Combo

Zhuge Jin and Liu Ba thoroughly polished the plan for minting new coins and got Liu Bei's approval.

So we took advantage of the last bit of time at the end of July to get things done.

The silver-plated copper coins of Zhi 500 coins, which are needed for large-scale circulation, still have some technical details to be tackled, and then small-scale trial production and running-in, so it is estimated that it will be difficult to issue them on a large scale this year.

But it doesn't matter. Zhuge Liang's reform of "substitute labor money/rent and labor tax system" was not achieved overnight. This year, it was only piloted on a small scale in Jiangzhou and Zitong. The number of people involved was not large, and it would not cause a shortage of money so quickly.

Zhuge Liang could have mobilized more old copper coin reserves in advance and transported them to Jiangzhou City and other places, so as to inject liquidity into the market when the people needed to pay in large quantities of copper coins.

Zhuge Jin's silver-plated 500-coin coin would be ready in time as long as it could be rolled out before next year's tax season.

In comparison, the silver alloy coin made by Zhuge Jin, which contains nearly 90% silver, is much easier to cast. There are no technical difficulties at present, and mature samples have already been cast.

Zhuge Jin asked Liu Ba to arrange production, and they started to cast coins at the end of July. By the beginning of August, tens of thousands of silver coins had been cast.

As craftsmen become more skilled, production lines and tools become more and more integrated, and the scale of production can be further replicated and expanded. It is estimated that this year we can reach the scale of casting tens of thousands of silver coins per month, and if necessary, we can expand production next year.

However, considering that this currency with a very high silver content is only a value anchor, a "commemorative coin", Zhuge Jin estimates that if nothing unexpected happens in the future, there will not be much demand for it.

With the same amount of silver reserves, it is more cost-effective to mint silver-plated coins, which can also increase the "broad money supply". The premium gap between the two is at least five times.

After the first batch of silver coins were minted, Zhuge Jin asked Liu Bei for permission and announced that he could use silver coins to buy back the copper coins of his meritorious officials as planned.

Liu Bei naturally had no objection, so he chose an auspicious day, August 15th, the day of the Mid-Autumn Moon, to announce the plan.

……

Time soon came to August 15th. In Wuchang City, there were also a few places with lights and decorations to celebrate the harvest.

The Mid-Autumn Festival already existed in the Han Dynasty, but it did not have as many red tape as in later generations, and there were no moon cakes.

The Mid-Autumn Festival in the Han Dynasty was mainly for harvest ceremonies, and moon-viewing was just an optional activity.

The civil and military officials who were still in Jiangxia County naturally had to attend the banquet at the Wuchang Marquis's residence. Zhuge Jin, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were among them, and a total of more than a hundred officials came.

Needless to say, there were many formalities and drinks during the banquet. After three rounds of drinking, Liu Bei announced something:
Since the rebellion against Cao last year, the rewards for the civil and military officers have been paid in full. However, because the rewards were paid too hastily at the beginning of the year, gold and brocade were insufficient, so more copper coins were issued, resulting in less copper coins remaining in the treasury. There is a temporary shortage of military pay for the soldiers.

After hearing this, the civil and military officials were confused about what Liu Bei was trying to do. Some of the newcomers who didn't know their lord thought that he was trying to persuade them to tighten their belts and live a frugal life.

Fortunately, Liu Bei changed the subject and immediately made his real purpose clear:

"Everyone, the soldiers' salaries are only a few hundred coins a month, and they must be paid in copper coins. But the rewards for everyone are different, they are often hundreds of thousands of coins, and they can be replaced by something else. So I discussed with the Minister of Justice and decided to issue silver coins, each of which can be worth 3,500 coins.

If anyone responds to the call and is willing to exchange copper coins for silver coins, the first batch can be exchanged for one silver coin at a rate of 3,000 coins. This is also because the silver coins are new and the people still have doubts in their hearts. This price will not be the same in the future. "

After Liu Bei finished speaking, Zhuge Jin also hurriedly helped to explain a few words, saying that even if everyone responded, the amount that each person could redeem at a preferential price was limited.

The three dukes could exchange for 100 million silver coins. The generals of the guards could exchange for 80 million silver coins. The generals of the front, back, left, and right, the minister of the imperial court, and the minister of the imperial court could exchange for 50 million silver coins. The others were similar, with different limits according to their ranks.

It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and everyone was in a good mood, and they also responded to the call of the lord. After Situ said this, he started a "hunger marketing" and naturally everyone "subscribed" at the same time.

Liu Bei simply invited everyone to a meal and drink wine to admire the moon, but he created a lot of hype. This "press conference" can be said to be a success.

That night, a group of top civil and military officials who had been prepared for a long time exchanged their copper coins and received the silver coins as rewards. Others subscribed first, wrote down the amount, and agreed to collect the copper coins before making the delivery.

The next day, the above news spread in Wuchang City, and everyone from gentry to businessmen immediately paid attention to this matter.

This was also the original purpose of Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin. It was easy to convince their officials of the value of the silver coin, but the key was to convince the people, especially the itinerant merchants.

After all, the silver coins that officials took back were just stored in the cellar, and the circulation rate was too low. It was called "precision delivery" to make those who spend a lot of money every day believe it.

The subsequent promotion of silver coins will certainly take some time, but the initial development can indeed be described as steady and everything is going according to plan.

...Let me explain this in two ways.

While Zhuge Jin was minting and issuing alloy silver coins, he also sent a letter to Jiangbei New City in Jiangzhou with his plans, progress, and subsequent considerations.

This will allow my second brother to grasp the situation in Jingzhou in a timely manner, understand the progress of the lord in solving the problem of money shortage, and make targeted adjustments to the fiscal and tax reforms he implemented in Shu this year.

Zhuge Jin sent the letter even before Liu Bei officially issued silver coins for rewards during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Therefore, even if the journey to Sichuan is included, the messenger still arrived in Jiangzhou smoothly in mid-August.

When Zhuge Liang heard that someone had delivered a document from his elder brother, he of course took it very seriously. He met the messenger in person as soon as possible, checked the seal in person, and then opened the document.

While opening the letter, Zhuge Liang saw that the messenger had a distinctive appearance, with prominent cheekbones. He spoke and responded appropriately, had quick reactions, and knew what he should know and what he should not know.

Zhuge Liang was slightly curious, so he asked casually, "What is your background? What is your current position?"

The messenger bowed and kowtowed: "Deng Zhi from Nanyang was originally a poor scholar under Liu Jingsheng. After the lord took over Jiangxia, I came here because of his reputation. I was a minor official. Last year, I was appreciated and promoted by the Minister of the Interior. Now I am just a subordinate of the Minister of the Interior's Office."

Zhuge Liang nodded, without asking any more questions, and just casually instructed: "After the matter here is settled, you can stay in Jiangzhou for a while, and I will discuss countermeasures with Pang Shiyuan, and then you can be sent back to Jiangxia.

I have my own ideas on how to publicize the coinage mentioned in the letter in Yizhou. When you leave, don't say anything you shouldn't say.

When you have some free time, you can take a look at the local customs and practices of Jiangzhou, and witness the pros and cons of the reform of the labor service fee system with your own eyes. Then you can report to the Lord and the Minister of Civil Affairs when you return."

Deng Zhi nodded quickly, indicating that he was just a messenger, and he didn't know any secrets that he shouldn't know, and he would never show off any information that shouldn't be shown off.

Zhuge Liang read the letter and got a general understanding of the causes and consequences of the coinage work and the latest progress, while thinking to himself:
The ordinary Cao family member that my elder brother discovered from among the petty officials does have some potential and may become a talent in the future. My elder brother's ability to identify people from their humble beginnings is indeed better than mine. I am afraid that even if I practice for many more years, I may not be able to catch up with him...

Zhuge Liang never gave in to others in most areas of intelligence and strategy, but when it came to identifying and employing people, he always truly admired his lord and elder brother, and felt that they did a better job than he did.

How could he know that his elder brother had taken advantage of the time traveler's foresight last year and simply copied the answers to cheat.

Although Deng Zhi's hometown was Nanyang, Jingzhou, historically he moved to Shu due to the war in Jingzhou. He was initially employed as a minor official by Pang Xi under Liu Zhang. It was not until Liu Bei entered Shu that he was given an important position. He became successful very late.

However, in this life, war had not yet broken out in the Jingzhou area, Cao Cao's invasion to the south had not yet occurred, Deng Zhi was still living in Jingzhou, and Liu Bei entered Jiangxia.

Since Sima Hui, Huang Chengyan, Xu Shu, Xiang Lang and other famous scholars in Jingzhou came to serve Liu Bei five or six years ago, Liu Bei has become more and more popular in the three counties of northern Jing. The scholars who were not given important positions in Liu Biao's territory, as long as they were confident of their talents, flocked to Jiangxia and Changsha, and the young Deng Zhi was also quietly among them.

However, his academic foundation was even shallower, and he had no reputation. He arrived late, only four years ago, and there were no vacant official positions in Liu Bei's army in Jingzhou, so he started as a minor official.

After working as a clerk for three years, he had a good reputation for his work. Last year, by chance, he was discovered by Zhuge Jin from the roster of clerks. Zhuge Jin simply copied the answers and left.

Most of the important officials who opened a government office had many "Cao" under them. The chief of Cao was called Cao Yuan, and the ordinary staff under him were called "Cao Shu". So Deng Zhi's current rank was actually still very low, just a runner. To reach the level of the famous scholar Liu Ba, one could start as a "Cao Yuan".

……

With Zhuge Liang's care, Deng Zhi settled down in the new city of Jiangbei in Jiangzhou after delivering the letter.

I plan to use these days to observe the actual effects of Zhuge Liang's pilot system of labor service payment and its real impact on the suffering of the people.

When I return to Jingzhou in the future, I will report truthfully to my lord and Situ.

In this era, transportation was inconvenient and it was very dangerous to go in and out of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. Zhuge Liang must have spent a lot of time preparing a reply, and also asked Pang Tong if there was any news to be sent back. This took even longer, so Deng Zhi had plenty of time to wander around.

Deng Zhi rested at the post house that night to relieve the fatigue of the journey. The next morning, Deng Zhi took advantage of breakfast to ask the postmaster of the post house for news:

"I wonder if there will be any corvée projects near Jiangzhou after the autumn harvest this year? I heard that Lord Zhuge is trying out a replacement labor system here. Will there be enough people to do the work?"

The postmaster also knew his identity, so he did not hide it from him and answered casually: "Of course there is. Zhuge Lingjun has already planned it. After the autumn harvest, he will recruit civilians to continue to expand the wharf at Ciqikou in the west of the city. Now it is not even the slack season, but they have already found some people to start working. It will not disturb the people, nor delay the farming season. You will know when you go and see it."

Deng Zhi couldn't help but be a little bit unbelieving: "Conscription has always been a hard job that disturbs the people since ancient times. How can there be a job that does not disturb the people and does not delay farming? I would like to see it for myself."

(End of this chapter)