Chapter 74
Chu Hua: [Privately minted coins and counterfeit coins are not completely the same concept.]
[Privately minted coins are a term used in ancient times to refer to coins minted privately by the public. Counterfeit coins are coins minted for profit, using shoddy workmanship and poor quality. Privately minted coins include, but are not limited to, counterfeit coins.]
The explanation was so simple and clear that the system understood it immediately and translated it into its own plain language.
[Privately minted coins are coins made privately. Counterfeit coins are counterfeit coins. They are made by replacing genuine copper coins with low-cost copper coins in an attempt to turn a million into two million or more.]
Chu Huan affirmed: [That’s right.]
The system's tone immediately changed: [Hey—what kind of beautiful things are these people thinking about?]
People work hard for a month to earn a few copper coins, but you can multiply that profit several times over by melting the copper and adding other metals. Who would still work? They could just mint copper coins and get rich!
Chu Hua: [The technical requirements for privately minting copper coins in ancient times were not as high as those for counterfeiting coins today. Distinguishing genuine copper coins from counterfeits was somewhat difficult, so the practice of privately minting copper coins persisted despite repeated bans.]
System: [Is it easy to mint copper coins?]
Chu Hua: [I know I need a master coin, a template, and molten copper, but I'm not sure how to make it.]
This pitiful clue I have is from a TV series. I don't know if it's correct, mainly because no crew is rich enough to completely replicate the ancient process of making copper coins.
The system couldn't rely on simple imagination to understand the process of casting copper coins, so its curiosity couldn't be quenched. "I'll go take a look."
Everyone:!!!
No, no, no! No, no!
How big a deal was minting copper coins? Was it a secret they could know?
After hearing this damning secret tonight, I'm afraid I'll be summoned to the Pacification Office by the Imperial Guards late at night. Spending New Year's Eve in the Imperial Prison, how can the new year be good? Whose family celebrates the old and welcomes the new like this?!
Chu Huan also felt that this was not a good idea. She could listen in private, but she absolutely could not bring it up in group chat mode.
Some people who are afraid of death have already started a mad sprint, and they must get away from the 50-meter range before the system returns.
As long as I run fast enough, the secret can't catch up with me! Even the imperial prison can't open its doors to me!
Some people were already far away, and after running a few steps they were out of communication range, and they patted their chests in fear.
Some people squatted down near Chu Huan in order to have a clearer view of the melon. Suddenly, they encountered a crisis and jumped three feet high, almost making the soles of their feet smoke.
Chu Qi and Chu Shu were still hesitating whether to run. Old Mrs. Chu had experienced a lot at her age and had already taken off her clothes and gone to bed. When she heard that it was such a life-threatening thing, she quickly got up, threw on her clothes casually, and ran away.
The people hiding outside could still run, and the maids in the hall could also find an opportunity to sneak away. Chu Ping and Wen Shi did not have the ability to run 50 meters in two seconds, and they were completely lying down.
Just listen to it. As long as Dasheng needs Chu Huan, both of them will be safe for a day.
The system responded incredibly quickly: [I thought casting copper coins was difficult, but it turns out to be so simple. Just...]
Everyone was instantly filled with pain. Do they have to hear this fatal secret?
After Pei Mingcheng left, Tu Wenguang took over the position of guarding the Chu family. In less than a minute, he had figured out how to deal with the people of the Chu family after the matter of minting copper coins was leaked.
Since Chu Ping and Wen Shi cannot be moved, Old Lady Chu and Chu Shu have to be sent to the farm and guarded by someone. It would be much easier to deal with servants, but they would have to see blood, and we also have to find a way to prevent Chu Huan from getting suspicious.
Unexpectedly, at the critical moment, Chu Huan stopped the system: [Tong'er, this matter cannot be discussed.]
system:【? 】
After a second of reaction, I realized the problem and said, "Okay, I'll listen to Sister Huan and stop talking."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, either openly or secretly. Their lives were saved!
Tu Wenguang and the Jinyiwei were also thankful for the reduced workload. Working overtime on New Year's Eve was already painful enough; who would want to work double overtime? Of course, the best thing would be to get through it safely.
Thank you Miss Chu!
The system quickly continued the previously deviated topic: [What this group of people did was not only privately minted but also counterfeited money, which is an even greater crime.]
Chu Hua: [How long have they been doing this?]
System: [Less than a year.]
Yes, if this group of people had been doing this for several years and a large number of fake copper coins had flowed into the market, someone would have noticed something was wrong long ago.
Chu Hua: [Are there many privately minted copper coins? How many have entered the market?]
This is not the lucky melon that the system has eaten. It is a bit beyond its scope, so it ran to search for a while.
[Over five million copper coins were minted, and currently over two million have entered the market. Is that a lot?]
Chu Hua: […It depends on what you’re comparing it to.]
If we look at the entire Dasheng area, two million is just a drop in the bucket. But if it all flows into one local county, it's a huge amount.
[Tong'er, take a look at where all these newly minted fake copper coins have gone.]
System: [They are everywhere, not just in one county. These people know how to avoid danger.]
Chu Huan felt a little relieved. Fortunately, this group of people did not target a single county, which could reduce the impact a little.
She was far away in the capital, so no matter how much she worried, it was useless. It all depended on whether Chu Qin could find the problem, shut down this group of counterfeit currency manufacturers as soon as possible, and take back all the fake copper coins that had entered the market.
Such a big thing happened at the beginning of the new year. The emperor and his officials will not be in a good mood. I am afraid that tonight will be another sleepless night.
Tomorrow the emperor has to take all the officials to the Taimiao to worship their ancestors early. The ceremony and etiquette are quite complicated. I hope they can hold on.
Chu Huan prayed silently, and at the same time felt fortunate that she didn't have to suffer such pain.
[Over half a year, over five million coins were minted. 20,000 a day. Is this efficiency...low or high?]
The main reason was that she didn't understand the difficulty of minting copper coins, nor how many people were involved in minting them. Without a fixed standard, it was difficult to measure.
System: [It's quite high. They don't just collect copper coins and melt them down directly, but start with mining.]
There was a small copper mine over there, which required mining and smelting before coins could be minted. Initially, the group had little experience, the molds were incorrect, and the technology was immature. The fake coins they made varied greatly in thickness, and the fonts were sometimes clear and sometimes blurry. It was immediately obvious they were wrong, and they were completely unusable.
[Once they had adjusted the thickness to match that of real copper coins, they realized that the newly minted copper coins were too new, with few signs of wear and tear, making them easily noticeable. So they began researching how to counterfeit and make them look old, making them look real.]
By the time they had created a copper patina on the coins that was indistinguishable from the real thing, making it difficult for regular traders to detect and allowing for smooth circulation, several months had passed. Therefore, they only had three months to produce over five million fake coins.
By this calculation, casting 60,000 copper coins a day is indeed quite efficient.
Just by listening to the system's brief description, Chu Huan could imagine how many problems this group of people encountered in the process of casting fake copper coins.
[Why does it sound like a makeshift team? Didn't they hire professional counterfeiters?]
System: [It's like this. This team was originally set up by the local garrison, and they didn't hire professional counterfeiters. But I think that privately minting copper coins is something that could easily cost you your life, and most people wouldn't want to do it, right?]
Chu Hua: ???
Everyone: ???
Were the garrison minting coins? Were they short of money? Was someone embezzling their pay, forcing them to starve?
There was a similar situation in the previous dynasty. The last emperor only cared about his own happiness and refused to pay the army. He always deducted a little here and a little there for various reasons.
Unable to survive, the soldiers surrounded the nearby copper mines and minted their own copper coins to pay their own salaries.
Officers and soldiers took the lead in privately minting copper coins, and wealthy families and businessmen in the society also started to have evil ideas. If you can do it, I can do it too. All kinds of fake copper coins flowed into the market in large quantities. Productivity and the total number of commodities remained unchanged, so prices naturally rose.
Originally an egg cost only three cents, but later it rose to twelve cents.
This is also the reason why Chu Huan became alert when she heard that someone was illegally mining copper: several emperors of Dasheng worked diligently and cautiously, and they finally lived a peaceful life, and they really couldn't stand the trouble.
Chu Hua: [No matter how poor the national treasury was, it never withheld military pay. Why would the local garrison do this?]
When the national treasury was in trouble a few years ago, the emperor and officials had thought about military pay. The court's annual military pay expenditure was a huge figure, and a slight deduction could make up for it.
However, both emperors sent their princes to join the army and take the lead in garrisoning the border. They made so many changes. Once the military pay was withheld, they were worried that their previous efforts would be wasted. They could only tighten their belts and think of other solutions.
The system was almost speechless and rolled its eyes: [Because Captain Huang is a big gambler. Not only did he lose everything on gambling, but he still refuses to stop. He always thinks that borrowing some money can make a comeback in the next round, and he uses the military pay that is supposed to be distributed to gamble.]
The result is predictable. He lost all his pay, and the soldiers would surely riot if they couldn't get paid. Dasheng never withheld or delayed pay, so he couldn't find any other excuse and had to find another solution.
He borrowed money at interest to pay out the soldiers first, then figured out how to make up for the debt. How could he make so much money in such a short time? There happened to be a small copper mine in the area, and he had a brother who was a carpenter, so he asked him to make a template for the copper coins.
Chu Huan was speechless. Instead of thinking of something that could easily cost you your life, why don't you just quit gambling?
She knew that quitting gambling was almost as difficult as quitting drugs, but it couldn't be harder than losing your head, right?
System: [Once this thing starts, it will cause a lot of noise and it can't be concealed easily. Once it is known to others, those people will be tempted by the benefits and want to get involved. As more and more people participate, it will become a large-scale
This girl's family was tricked into mining long ago, and back then, their hearts weren't so cold. They sold her to a distant brothel for a quick buck, and when someone discovered their secret, they killed her.
This also answered all Chu Huan's doubts - the beheading incident was discovered, but these people didn't kill to silence the witness?
Since Meng Hang was not there, Chu Huan could not ask Meng Hang to go to the homes of the Minister of Justice or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to deliver evidence, so the system did not say much, to avoid making more mistakes, and instead said something safer.
System: [If this girl hadn't heard that your brother, as an imperial envoy, had dealt with many corrupt officials along the way and was sure that he was an honest and good official, she wouldn't have dared to say it.]
The local magistrate was originally looking for the most popular red card. When the girl heard that she would be serving the imperial envoy, she immediately knelt down and begged the red card to give her this opportunity.
Hongpai thought the Imperial Envoy was from the capital, and if he could get promoted, he'd enjoy endless wealth and glory, and never have to live this kind of life again. However, seeing that this girl really had something to hide, he gritted his teeth, stamped his feet, and gave her the opportunity.
The county magistrate was looking for the red card. Worried about being recognized if she changed someone else, she asked the girl to dress up as her maid and go with her. Once there, she was told to ask your brother for help.
The girls in brothels often received customers. In ancient times, there were no good contraceptive methods. The girls could not choose their own customers and were easily infected with various diseases by their customers. Many doctors were unwilling to see the girls in brothels. If they got sick, they would either take some random medicine or wait for themselves to recover.
Their blooming period is shorter than that of other girls, and they need to accumulate enough capital when they are famous, otherwise their lives will be very difficult when they are old or sick and cannot receive customers.
Even so, Red Card still gave up this rare opportunity, which shows that no matter what era, women are more likely to empathize with each other and are more willing to help each other.
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