"Today, I invite you to discuss the shortage of copper resources. Everyone will mention any ideas!" While eating, the other two elders from Shengzi rushed to the garden. Zhao Qi said when they sat down.

"Second Master, if we want to ensure the supply of copper, we would better have our own mine special supply workshop!" Zheng Lu said after thinking about it.

"Now, several mines in the Song Dynasty have reached their maximum output, and most of the products have been given to our workshops, but they can only find new mines to increase their output. Besides, copper is related to the lifeblood of the country and will not be left to the public for the time being!" Zhao Qi shook his head and denied his suggestion.

"Now, only the price of copper is increased to prevent the copper from flowing out!" Zheng Shou suggested again.

"How much does it increase the price?" Zheng Fu asked with a smile, "Fusang mainly traded materials for our dynasty, wooden boards and gold, but the copperware it manufactured is particularly good at our country, but it has less copper. So he landed in the coastal states without a Maritime Bureau to collect copper coins and return to the local people at high prices and then sell them back to make a profit of ten times or a hundred times. Similarly, the trade gold and spices of Southeast Asian countries such as Jiaozhi and Java agreed to exchange them for small flat coins. Xu Ruo was not allowed to be released, so they bought copper with goods and barred with copper after returning to the country, making ten times the profit between round and trips!"

"Yes, such a huge profit, the price of copper is simply useless. Excessive rise will hurt ourselves and make the cost unbearable!" Zheng Shou denied himself without anyone else's words. He sighed and said, "The best way is to no longer rely on copper cast cannons, so that we will no longer be so worried!"

"Well?! You can consider this idea!" Zhao Qi suddenly reached out to stop them from continuing. He fell into deep thought. Many iron cannons were passed down in the world in later generations. He chose copper cannons because he initially considered the convenience of processing and success rate, but he forgot that iron cannons could also cast cannons, which led him to a dead end.

"What is the yield and quality of our iron now?" Zhao Qiong asked after thinking for a moment.

"Second Master, since you proposed to use coal to make coke, the quality and output of iron smelting have improved. It is easier to turn into steel!" Zheng Lu replied immediately.

"Okay, let the workshop use iron instead of copper to test cast iron cannons!" Zhao Qi slapped the table and said excitedly.

"The Second Master has a good idea. If we can successfully test the cast iron cannon, we will not be subject to the lack of copper, and the weight will also drop a lot." Zheng Lu nodded, and everyone also felt that it was a good way to fundamentally solve the problem.

"Second Master, even if we use iron cannons instead of copper cannons, bullets, bead guns and cannon stands still require a lot of copper, which can only alleviate the current tension. In the long run, there is still a shortage." After excitement, Zheng Shou said with a wry smile, and he thought of these again. Copper is a necessary item for making bullets. It cannot be recycled after firing. Although a bullet cannot be used for a lot, it consumes a huge amount. In the Northern Expedition, it consumes nearly ten million bullets, which is a small amount. In the future, as the power expands, the consumption of bullets will only be more or less.

"There are many copper in Dali. I have asked the Ministry of Rites to discuss mining with them. Once we succeed, the situation of copper shortage can be fundamentally changed. You must also recruit craftsmen and workers to prepare. After reaching an agreement, you will go to Dali to mine!" Zhao Qi said.

"That's best. But can Dali agree? Their king's words seem to be counting, and the prime minister is in power!" Zheng Lu said with some doubt.

"Haha. I haven't gotten what the second master wants any time. Not to mention the little Dali, even the second master of Jin Kingdom wants to give them everything they want!" Zheng Fu said with a smile.

"Of course, the second master discussed with them that he had already given them face. If the army did not know what was going on, it would be ours at that time!" Zheng Shou also said with a look of his mind. It was no longer the time for them to have three or two guns and hundreds of people back then, and the small caravan with a look of people everywhere.

"Hehe, you are really crow-mouthed. The negotiations are not going well now. If you don't do it well, you have to start another war!" Zhao Qi grinned as he listened to the three old men praising him, "It will take some time for things to come out there. We cannot let those speculators free up our Song Dynasty copper dump. We have to find a way to teach them a lesson."...

………

In two months, the trade winds will begin, and all maritime merchants are busy preparing for stocking and loading ships. Of course, hard currency such as copper coins has become a necessity for each company to prepare. However, this year, I heard that the emperor ordered that going to sea was strictly prohibited, and violators would be severely punished, but everyone did not care. I don’t know how many emperors said this, but in the end, they would be thunder and raindrops, and it would be a matter of catching a few shrimps and beheading them.

In the southeast, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the big merchants either have strong financial resources or collude with the government. If they catch them, they will spend some money to avoid disasters. No one cares about it. According to convention, they sent their subordinates to collect copper coins. Now the country uses Jiaozi and silver coins instead of copper coins, and has stopped minting copper coins. Therefore, copper coins are becoming increasingly rare and the prices are rising, so they have to start earlier. However, many of the people they sent out have returned empty-handed this time.

After a closer look, it turned out that a group of people have now purchased copper coins at a price twice the market price, which is three times higher than the official price. These big merchants didn't care at first, and they all thought it was just a gimmick, because the profits would drop a lot after receiving copper coins at such a high price, just to attract people to send the money, and when there are too many people, the price will drop. Therefore, they all calmed down and waited.

More than ten days have passed, not only did those people not stop, but more people participated. Some vendors did not hesitate to go to remote places where news was blocked and the money was collected at a high price, and then sold it to those people at a higher price. Some even hoarded it after receiving the money, waiting for the price to rise again. Therefore, the black market price of copper coins not only did not drop, but instead showed a trend of rising again. Seeing that the trade winds came, merchant ships were going to sea, and the foreign ships also had to rely on ports, but they had not received the hard currency, so they couldn't help but be anxious, but they still wanted to wait and see how much capital the people who collected the money had.

But this time, these big merchants bet on the wrong treasure again, and the price of copper coins increased by 20%. The wind quickly spread to the coastal prefectures, and some families also took out all the accumulation of famine in preparation for famine. The big merchants could not sit still, and they began to suspect that the purpose of those who received money at high prices was not only to receive more money, but to monopolize the market, eat the goods sold by foreign ships and overseas markets, and cut off their financial resources.

After understanding the truth, these big merchants could no longer sit still and joined forces to purchase copper coins with a higher price. At this time, the price of copper coins had doubled on the original basis, but at this time they had no way out and were willing to spend all their money. The result was still good, and they still "laughed" until the end. No one dared to compete with them anymore. The copper coins flowed into their hands continuously, and the copper coins that lasted for two months ended with them.

The wool still had to be on the sheep. After the fleet of the merchants docked, they suddenly found that their goods were worthless. The Song Dynasty merchants holding a large handful of copper coins in their hands collectively broke the price. If they wanted the copper coins, they had to pay more. Just when the merchants were stunned, the savior appeared. They traded with the merchants in barter, but the price was naturally cheaper, and the desperate merchants could only cut their losses.

Now the maritime merchants in the Song Dynasty were stunned. Their money was all over the copper coins, so they naturally had no remaining funds to purchase goods. However, they still refused to lower prices and placed their hopes on smuggling. They calculated that although the copper coins had increased by five times, if they were trafficked to various vassal states, they would still make a profit if they were resold to those ships who evaded tariffs and did not enter the port on the sea.

Just as the big merchants were looking for the second best, it suddenly came out that the navy and the patrols of the states had increased their efforts to investigate the smuggling of copper coins. The original troops were all adjusted to defend themselves, and the patrols of the states were replaced by the law enforcement team of the imperial guards of the Pacification Department. These people could not be able to get through the water. When they wanted to smuggle through the inside of the government, they found that the road was not accessible, and the censors had controlled them and took them to the capital to question them.

Bad news came one after another. It is said that the navy launched an encirclement and suppression of smuggled ships berthed outside the port. Anyone who found copper coins of the Song Dynasty on the ship confiscated the ships and cargo and seized the people. Those who found signs of failure to escape were bombarded by the navy gunboats. As a result, the ship was destroyed and the people were killed without returning. Then, the governments began to track down the merchants of the Song Dynasty who participated in the smuggling based on clues. Many people were arrested. The mild cases were confiscated and exiled, and the severe cases were confiscated and the homes were beheaded.

Copper coins cannot be traded, the market price began to fall rapidly, and the exchange of official prices also lowered. At this time, the government also issued a notice that since the copper coins had withdrawn from circulation, the various Jiaozi Shops and money counters would stop exchanging copper coins. At this moment, the big merchants pawned and mortgaged houses and fields were about to expire, and no one would take over the large amount of copper coins that could be purchased to the market price. There was only one way to go, which was to drive the copper coins to the government at the last moment when the government stopped exchange!

The merchants were in tears and were on the verge of bankruptcy. After thinking about it, they realized that they had been plotted against, but even if they knew that the person who cheated them was unable to retaliate. Because they had such great financial resources to purchase copper coins, instructed the caravans to exchange a large amount of goods with the merchants, and then mobilized the army to investigate and smuggle, and used the censor to clear the borers in the government. There was only one person in the Song Dynasty - the emperor!

The big merchants respected and hated the emperor. This action was not something that only requires financial resources and power. They also need to be proficient in the tricks. They must have a meticulous mind and grasp the situation and timing. Any mistake in the action will lead to failure and suffer huge losses. This forced them to admire the emperor's business mind. It was hateful and couldn't hate it. The emperor let them go at the last moment and did not kill them. He acquired the copper coins in their hands. Although they suffered huge losses, they saved them from losing all their money and lost all their money...
Chapter completed!