Zhu Yuanzhang said dejectedly, "How come I have the fewest?" After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there were no large-scale wars, and the population was relatively saturated, so of course he had the fewest.
Jin Wuzhu asked cautiously, "What should we do with the extra 50,000?"
I clapped my hands and said, "We've gathered here to solve this problem. The only solution right now is to open up the military routes between you all, and temporarily send the extra people to other countries to avoid trouble."
Li Shimin tugged at Qin Shi Huang's sleeve and said, "Brother Ying, we have the same number of people and the same capital city. What do you think about exchanging places?"
Fatty Ying said, "Okay then."
Zhu Yuanzhang said to Genghis Khan, "Old friend, I don't mean to criticize you, but it's best if the Mongols don't go to my territory; it's a sensitive area..."
Genghis Khan smiled and said, "I understand."
Hua Mulan said, "Temujin's men can go to our Northern Wei; the local customs there might be more suitable for you."
I chimed in, "Yes, it's best not to cross-reference dynasties that are too close together."
Jin Wuzhu looked at Liu Bang and said, "It seems that the only option is for our two families to help each other."
Liu Bang emphasized, "My place can't accommodate many people; there's a famine going on right now."
I said to Jin Wuzhu, "You can send some people to Ying Ge's place. The work is a bit tiring, it's building the Great Wall, but they will be paid."
Jin Wuzhu said, "What if we return to our country and don't spend all the money? Does that mean we've worked for nothing? Our Jin Kingdom will not recognize the money of other countries."
Li Shimin nodded and said, "That's a problem. There are tens of thousands of people involved. Even if we are governments, we can't support them for nothing. They need to be self-reliant. Brother Ying, what is the GDP of your Qin state?"
Chapter 193 Talent Cultivation Coin Forest System
When Ying Pangzi heard Li Shimin ask him this, he was displeased and said, "What do you mean?" Because in reality, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty was indeed stronger than that of the Qin Dynasty. Pangzi was probably overthinking it. No emperor wants to be seen as someone who needs poverty alleviation.
Li Shimin laughed and said, "Brother Ying, don't misunderstand. I mean, could our two countries formulate a currency circulation plan? That way, the people who exchanged currency would not only have a secure livelihood, but they could also exchange goods and services."
Zhao Kuangyin said, "That's a good idea, but how do we calculate the units? How many coins were equal to one Kaiyuan Tongbao in the Qin Dynasty, and how many Mingbaochao were equal to in the Ming Dynasty?"
Jin Wuzhu couldn't help but say, "Then let's exchange them one by one."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, “Although we are all friends here, I must be frank with you from the start: this currency can be minted. For example, if I issue ten Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes and Brother Shimin issues ten Kaiyuan Tongbao Coins, they can both buy a bag of flour—Brother Shimin, please don't take offense, this is just an example. But if you issue 100 Kaiyuan Tongbao Coins, then while my Ming Dynasty can buy a bag of flour in your Tang Dynasty, you can buy 10 bags of flour from me. Wouldn't that be inflation?”
Li Shimin nodded and said, "This is indeed a problem. It's not that anyone here would have such bad intentions, but we are all in the same industry and we all understand that the economy is the easiest thing to get into chaos if it's not handled properly."
Liu Bang said, "Then let's use the gold standard. Everyone contributes a portion of their gold as collateral. In any dynasty, no matter who contributes currency that is not from their own dynasty but is universally accepted, they can be guaranteed to exchange it for gold."
Genghis Khan wasn't very good at this, and said with a headache, "Slow down, it's too confusing."
Qin Shi Huang said, "Unify! Unify!"
Li Shimin said, “Yes, let’s unify it. I suggest we mint a unified coin, for example, one thousand coins equal one tael of silver, and ten taels of silver can be exchanged for one tael of gold.”
Zhao Kuangyin asked, "What should we call this kind of money? Qin Yuan? Song Yuan? Or Tang Yuan?"
Liu Bang waved his hand and said, "It's too much trouble to mint them now. By the time the coins are minted, Heaven will have already destroyed us all."
At this moment, Jin Shaoyan finally spoke up: "Why don't you use the existing money? You can just use a unified symbol, like UnionPay, so that different banks can all withdraw RMB."
Liu Bang said, "I think it's a good idea!"
Zhao Kuangyin then asked, "What symbols should we use? How about printing all of our portraits on them?"
Jin Wuzhu asked anxiously, "Then should I have mine printed or not?"
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him and chuckled, "Just your seal? Doesn't your emperor have any suspicions? You want to overshadow the emperor with your achievements?"
Jin Wuzhu shrank back in fright.
Ersha pointed and said, "One, two, three, four, five... seven or eight people printed on one coin, don't you guys find it crowded?"
Li Shimin laughed and said, "We all came from Yucai School, so let's print Yucai's school flag."
The others thought for a moment and nodded. I quickly said, "Then I'll have to charge a naming rights fee."
Liu Bang summarized: "That's how it is. We will each contribute a portion of our money to print the Yucai school flag. This money, whether it's Kaiyuan Tongbao or Daming Baochao, will no longer be called by its original name; it will all be called Yucai currency. Those without the mark can of course still circulate, but that will require both parties to negotiate its purchasing power on a voluntary basis."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Wouldn't that create an exchange rate?"
Liu Bang said, "Yes, that depends on the market rules. Anyway, it's linked to the country's gold reserves, so there's no need to worry about anyone cheating or ripping us off."
Zhao Kuangyin said, "Yes, those marks aren't for nothing. The more you issue, the more you can buy things from others, and those people can also use the money to buy from you."
Zhu Yuanzhang said smugly, "Why don't we become emperors? We're all a bunch of damn geniuses!"
The group burst into laughter: "That's right!"...
Thus, the major powers agreed upon an ancient version of the Bretton Woods system during the Qin Dynasty—the Yucai Coin Forest System. The system stipulated that the Yucai Coin would be the international monetary unit, pegged to gold, while other countries' currencies would be pegged to the Yucai Coin.
Genghis Khan said, "You all have coins, what am I supposed to do? We usually barter with hides and cattle and sheep."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Brother, this barter system won't work. How about this, you exchange some of your goods for Yucai coins. You can't exactly lead your cattle and sheep to Northern Wei, can you?"
Hua Mulan said, "If we had money, we wouldn't need to talk about who dies and who goes. Anyway, we're not raising them for nothing. In that case, Brother Ying can recruit people to help you build the Great Wall as long as he's willing to spend money."
Qin Shi Huang nodded thoughtfully.
Zhao Kuangyin looked around and said, "Shall we go?"
Li Shimin said, "There's no rush. Let's stay here with Brother Ying for a day or two. Xiao Qiang, ask when the military road will open. If it won't cause any delays, we can take the military road."
I called and told them, "It will open tomorrow."