Chapter 176 Anti-counterfeiting Measures

Although the Baochao Tizhusi was under the Ministry of Works, its direct jurisdiction belonged to Zhu Yuanzhang. After all, it was a key department, and the Ministry of Works had no right to interfere in many matters of the Baochao Tizhusi.

But when Zhu Chong handed the most crucial printing plate to Qin Kui and asked him to present it together, Zhu was a little confused.

But soon, Old Zhu was distracted by Qin Kui's words.

"Your Majesty, please look." Qin Kui came forward with the printing plate, compared it with the banknotes on the tray for Zhu Yuanzhang, and then signaled Zhu Yuanzhang to pull the banknotes hard.

Old Zhu pulled the banknote doubtfully. He didn't dare to use too much force at first, but after pulling, he realized something was wrong. He pulled harder and harder, and when he discovered the peculiarity of the new banknote, his eyes widened and he said in a lost voice: "This..."

"Your Majesty, the new banknotes produced by His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin are much tougher than before. No matter whether they are folded or pulled hard, they will not deform or crack easily. This greatly enhances the usability of the banknotes."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu's face was filled with surprise. He picked up other banknotes and found that no matter how he folded, pulled, or even rubbed them, there was almost no wear and tear on the banknotes.

You should know that the previous banknotes would become worn out if they were folded too many times, not to mention being pulled and rubbed.

Old banknotes will tear if you pull them hard, and rubbing them will easily cause the ink to become a mess, making them unrecognizable.

However, the new treasure notes produced by Zhu Chong had no other effects except that the paper would naturally wrinkle due to rubbing.

Qin Kui then continued to explain, "Your Majesty, the banknotes made by His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin are not only extremely tough, but also have excellent anti-counterfeiting properties. Look at the ink and texture on them. Forging these new banknotes would be almost impossible!"

The more Old Zhu listened, the brighter his eyes became. He certainly understood that the biggest worry about issuing treasure notes was that they would be counterfeited.

Counterfeiting is shameful, but also terrifying, because counterfeiters can forge treasure notes with impunity, and the treasure notes they forge are equivalent to taking money out of Zhu's pocket.

Not only will it take money out of Lao Zhu's pocket, it will also affect his reputation. For Lao Zhu, both of these behaviors are detestable.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang had no good solution for either of these two situations. The printing technology and materials of the previous treasure notes were not much different from those of private printing houses.

For this reason, all Zhu Yuanzhang could do was to say "Anyone who prints banknotes privately will be executed along with his entire family", and there was nothing else he could do.

After all, the anti-counterfeiting function of the old treasure banknotes was very simple and insufficient, which led to the proliferation of counterfeit banknotes. The court also failed to supervise them effectively, and Zhu Yuanzhang's reputation was greatly affected.

The new treasure banknotes produced by Zhu Chong now make up for the lack of anti-counterfeiting function of the old treasure banknotes to the greatest extent. After all, in Zhu's opinion, it is not an easy task to forge new treasure banknotes, and it is easy for the people to distinguish between real and fake treasure banknotes.

In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang could restore some of his reputation and let the people know that the court had taken some measures regarding the treasure notes.

"Your Majesty, there's more to it than that." Seeing that Qin Kui's introduction had ended here, Zhu Chong had no choice but to step forward himself. He asked the eunuch for a basin of clean water and then threw a new banknote into the water.

"Hey, second brother, what are you doing..." Zhu Chong's behavior surprised Old Zhu, but after seeing clearly what Zhu Chong did, Old Zhu's gaze suddenly froze.

Zhu Chong's hand was seen stirring the new banknote back and forth in the water, but no matter how he stirred it, the banknote always remained on the water surface and did not show any sign of fading.

"Huh?" Old Zhu was immediately puzzled, because the previous banknotes almost dissolved when they came into contact with water, and turned into a pile of waste paper scraps. Moreover, the ink on the old banknotes would spread when they came into contact with water. In the case before him, the water would probably have dyed it into other colors long ago.

However, no matter how Zhu Chong's new banknotes were stirred and rubbed in the water, when they were finally taken out, apart from being wet, there was no sign of damage to the banknotes. Most importantly, there was no smudge or blur on the ink on the banknotes.

"This..." Old Zhu snatched the treasure note from Zhu Chong's hand and looked at it carefully. After checking it back and forth, he found that there was no sign of damage at all. He couldn't help but marvel at it.

"Second brother, this treasure note of yours is really extraordinary. How did you make it?"

In Lao Zhu's understanding, there is no paper in the world that will not be damaged after being soaked in water. However, what Zhu Chong did today really opened his eyes!

"Father, the new banknotes will soften when exposed to water. This is the nature of paper and cannot be changed. However, they will no longer completely crumble. Most importantly, the ink on the seal will not fade."

Old Zhu nodded. Zhu Chong was telling the truth, and he could tell. He couldn't help but praise him, "You've put a lot of effort into this, kid. After this treasure note dries up, will it still be the same as before?"

"It certainly won't be the same after drying, but it won't affect its usability." Zhu Chong said firmly, "Besides, the new banknotes have another major anti-counterfeiting feature."

"Hmm?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at it for a long time, but couldn't see any special anti-counterfeiting features of the new banknotes. He said self-righteously, "Oh, you mean the bumps and grooves on our bust? It's really nice. Ordinary workshops can't produce this effect!"

"Your Majesty, you have misunderstood." Zhu Chong smiled and pointed to the blank area on the left side of a banknote. "This is the spot I am referring to. Please hold up the banknote and look carefully at it in the light."

"Hmm?" Old Zhu was a little confused about what Zhu Chong said, but he still picked up a new banknote and did as Zhu Chong said. As a result, his eye sockets suddenly became much bigger.

All he saw was a blurry bust of himself appearing on the blank space of the treasure banknote facing the light.

Although the bust is slightly blurry, even transparent, you can still make out your outline if you look closely.

"This, this is too..." Old Zhu was really shocked this time. He picked up all the treasure banknotes one after another and looked at them one by one in the light according to what Zhu Chong said. The light in his eyes became brighter and brighter.

"Second brother, how did you do that? This is amazing!" Old Zhu looked incredulous.

"Father, this is what I've been busy with recently. If you don't misunderstand me, I'll just slack off for you."

Zhu Chong joked with Old Zhu and then explained to him, "I call this blank area of the bust of my father a watermark. It is the latest anti-counterfeiting method of the Baochao Tizhusi. With it, we will no longer be afraid of anyone daring to forge Baochao."

Old Zhu nodded heavily and praised repeatedly: "You are the one with the most clever ideas. You should be the one to handle this treasure note. And your banknote paper is really much better than before. And the ink, and the watermark..."