Chapter 70 The Value of Silver and Money

[Recite the URL three times silently. Do you remember it? If not, I will ask again in the next chapter. It would be best if you share it on Facebook for me]

"Although there is less silver, the quality is very good." Zhuge Xuan put a few ingots of silver in Qin Hao's hand and asked him to take a closer look to see if there was any difference from what he had seen before.

After hearing what he said, Qin Hao really got interested. He picked up one and put it in front of him to take a closer look: "Is there any mystery hidden?"

After a while, Qin Hao gave up. He looked left and right but couldn't see anything. These silver ingots were shining and very white.

Are they very regular? What's the problem?

"Is it too regular?!" Qin Hao muttered in a low voice.

After all, there is an old saying: The more beautiful you look, the more likely you are to deceive people.

But that's a person. What does it have to do with my silver?

Then he gave up the idea. Isn't silver supposed to be this color? It's wrong to be bright.

"Don't keep me in suspense. I really can't see it." Qin Hao threw the silver to Zhuge Xuan and said helplessly.

Zhuge Xuan took the silver, rubbed the silver surface, and began to tell the story.

"Most of the silver circulating in the Ming Dynasty now is the official silver cast in the early Wanli period. Because of its excellent workmanship and 90% silver content, it is most popular among merchants and people, and the stock is also the largest.

However, the three major expeditions in the late Wanli period led to the erosion of the national treasury, and the emperor was unwilling to use the assets of his own inner treasury. In order to make up for the deficit, Emperor Wanli asked the Silver Office to reduce the silver content. The silver became more and more crude, with only 80% silver content left, and 100 taels were added out of thin air."

Hearing this, Qin Hao smiled without saying a word, secretly saying: This skill has been passed down from generation to generation by the old Zhu family as a family heirloom. Zhu Yuanzhang loved to use it, and Wanli also loved to use it.

"As a result, the quality of silver on the market has plummeted, and it is all dusty and dull silver, so the term "dirty silver" came into being. If you receive good silver on weekdays, you will save it and use dirty silver as change."

"So there is more and more dirty silver on the market. Isn't this the effect of bad money driving out good money? What does it have to do with us? Can't one ingot of our silver be used as two ingots?"

Isn't it a loss-making business to exchange our good silver for dirty silver?

"Sir, although our silver cannot be used in pairs, it is still profitable." Zhuge smiled.

"Tell me about it." Qin Hao asked curiously.

"Only 80% of the silver circulating on the market is pure silver, and some other impurities are mixed in. Do you know how much silver our silver contains?" Zhuge Xuan pointed to the silver in his hand and asked with a smile.

Looking at the silver shining with silver light, Qin Hao touched his chin and said nonsense: "It must be no less than 90%."

He had said before that the brighter the silver, the better the quality. The silver in front of him must have a high silver content.

Zhuge Xuan heard Qin Hao's answer, smiled and said nothing, and made a mysterious "six".

"What!?"

This was like a bolt from the blue, which made Qin Hao's heart tremble. He was surprised and happy, and he could hardly believe his eyes.

After taking a closer look at Zhuge Xuan's fingers, he was still suspicious and asked: "You are not kidding me, how can it be only 60% silver."

"It is indeed only 60%." Zhuge Xuan said affirmatively.

Seeing his tone, Qin Hao believed most of it.

The Ming Dynasty has 80% silver, and we only have 60%. If we buy it back and recast it, we can get 20% more silver, which is simply silver laying eggs. And it's not just the Ming Dynasty, Japan, Annan, Western European countries, and America can all do it. As long as they can't see it, Qin Hao can count the money until his hands cramp.

When he thought of this, Qin Hao's face suddenly showed a fanatical look. He hurriedly grabbed Zhuge Xuan's arm and shook it, and asked: "Tell me quickly, how did you do this?"

"Sir, please be patient, please be patient."

Zhuge Xuan waved his hands helplessly: "I say, I say, don't shake it anymore, my thin arms and legs can't bear your strength."

After he said this, Qin Hao also knew that he was abrupt. Was he too excited?

So he pulled Zhuge Xuan to sit on the bamboo chair, poured a cup of tea and handed it over, and began to be courteous.

Zhuge Xuan took a sip of tea and said like offering a treasure: "This method is also simple, just add two elements."

"Which two?" Qin Hao asked curiously.

"One is tin, the other is lead. Add silver in a certain proportion, and you'll get silver with 60% silver content."

"Will this silver be exposed?" Qin Hao was a little worried. This real thing can't be fake, but the fake thing can't be real either.

If it's discovered, the fate may not be very good. The Ming Dynasty law stipulates that those who privately make silver and money will be exterminated with three clans.

"It's okay, sir. The addition of tin can make silver shiny, and lead can increase its weight. In this way, silver will definitely be indistinguishable from the real thing and will be more popular than the silver circulating in the Ming Dynasty."

Zhuge Xuan dared to say this for a reason. He had people try this silver in the territory for a while, and no one noticed it at all. Instead, it was well received by the people.

"It's not that no one can see it, but it's not possible in this era." Zhuge Xuan said.

This formula is the formula of fake silver. In later times, there were no special tools for chemical reactions. The master could not tell the real from the fake with the naked eye, let alone now. Moreover, he did not follow the formula of later times. That formula did not add any pure silver, but he asked the craftsmen to add 60%.

Even if someone knew the chemical reaction of silver, it could not be verified.

This is silver, and it is top-quality pure silver.

He told Qin Hao this, and Qin Hao breathed a sigh of relief and said, "So, when we receive the dirty silver, we will increase production."

Just after he finished speaking, Qin Hao suddenly thought of two problems: First, the silver content of this silver is not high, so if I take it back, wouldn't there be no profit? Second, the people will lose money for no reason if they receive this silver.

Qin Hao has no control over the emperor and the literati. They are happy when they lose money, but if the ordinary people are like this, wouldn't it be a sin? Will he be able to sleep at night?

Zhuge Xuan listened and told Qin Hao to rest assured. He answered: "The pure silver we make will definitely be hidden by the people when they see it, and they will exchange it with dirty silver. This situation will not happen in the short term. When it really happens, they probably won't care about this little profit. This is the answer to the first question."

"As for the answer to the second question, it is actually very simple. This silver is just a kind of currency equivalent. It has no value in itself. Its function is to be used as a basis for exchanging objects in daily life."

"Wait, I think I understand." Qin Hao had some epiphany after hearing what Zhuge Xuan said.

Isn't this the same as what was said in high school politics, the equivalence of currency.

Qin Hao thought for a moment and said thoughtfully: "In other words, as long as there are other items to replace this equivalent, silver can actually disappear."

The best choice to replace silver is paper money. As long as it is feasible, paper money can buy the whole world. Isn't there a country in the future that does this?

After thinking through all this, Qin Hao immediately became open-minded. He no longer felt guilty about not hurting people, and he could sleep peacefully.

Afterwards, the two of them had dinner together, drank tea, chatted about some things, and then went to rest.

We will set off tomorrow, so keeping in good spirits is the first priority.

[Do you remember that I asked you to recite it three times at the beginning of the chapter? Share it on Facebook and you may get a surprise]