amaotonovel Chapter 143 Coin Minting
Chapter 143 Coin Minting
Li Xuansheng looked at the queen doubtfully.
Long way to go!
How could it be her?
Isn’t she Qingqing’s sister?
Li Xuansheng raised his brows in an instant, and asked in a sharp voice that seemed to carry some blame:
"Queen, do you know that Qingqing is also pregnant? You are recommending her sister at this time. Aren't you deliberately causing trouble for Qingqing?"
The queen's eyes were visibly shocked.
Obviously, she had not expected that Li Xuansheng, who had always been obsessed with beauty, could remain unmoved in the face of a pretty beauty and could even say these words with great righteousness.
Why?
It was obvious that both herself and Lu Qingqing were pregnant, and she was even more pregnant.
Why does the emperor always consider Lu Qingqing?
The queen was so angry that she clenched her teeth and used all her strength to keep her expression steady. Despite being shocked, she still had to explain quickly.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, that's not what I meant."
"I was thinking that Miss Panpan has no status in the palace. If she serves you well and is made a concubine, it would be a great joy!"
Li Xuansheng looked at the queen who had grown up with him as a childhood sweetheart, and found it increasingly difficult to understand her. Was it him that Wang Jinrou loved, or the queen he had bestowed upon her?
This was the third time she had stuffed someone into her dragon bed!
Li Xuansheng gathered his sleeves together, his voice frighteningly calm.
“This is the third time.”
The queen was confused.
"what?"
Li Xuansheng's angular face was covered with an unpredictable anger. He seemed to be suppressing his emotions, but also seemed to be making a light threat.
"Empress, this is the third time you have put someone on my dragon bed. First it was Xu Guan's daughter, then it was Qing Qing, and now you are actually starting to set your sights on Lu Pan Pan!"
"What? Do you think my dragon bed is too big?"
The queen was instantly panicked.
She didn't expect that the emperor would not care about her face at all, and directly and blatantly refused her and even mocked her.
The queen's heart tightened, and she felt a slight dull pain in her lower abdomen, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
She stammered timidly and couldn't utter a word. She just looked at Li Xuansheng pitifully with her medium-sized almond eyes, trying to win back his favor.
It’s a pity that this trick of playing the victim has no effect on Li Xuansheng.
He quickly stood up and was about to leave with big strides.
When he reached the door, Li Xuansheng suddenly stopped. He did not look back, leaving only a bright yellow back view for the queen.
"Queen, you should stop worrying and just focus on taking care of your baby."
After saying that, he left Fengyi Palace without looking back, leaving the Queen alone, slumped on the couch in a daze.
After returning to the Qianqing Palace.
The more Li Xuansheng thought about the Queen recommending Lu Panpan, the angrier he became. He paced back and forth in the imperial study. When he raised his eyes, he saw the mountain of memorials on the desk, and he felt even more annoyed.
He sighed and sat back at his desk, muttering to himself.
"Alas, somehow, the Queen seems to have become a different person. I don't know if she can listen to my advice..."
"It also wasted time, causing me to leave a lot of memorials unapproved..."
Li Xuansheng immediately picked up the imperial pen to review the memorial, and it happened that he was reviewing a memorial handed in by Prime Minister Wang Zhong.
He looked at the memorial in deep thought for a long time, with the imperial pen in his hand, but he did not write his comments for a long time.
Wang Zhong's memorial was about the minting of new coins.
It turned out that after Li Xuansheng ascended the throne, he had not issued the coins of his own dynasty, but had always used the old system of the previous dynasty. It was only because when he first ascended the throne, the treasury was empty and the financial resources were insufficient, so the issuance of new coins was delayed.
After handling the case of Zhao Ning, tens of thousands of gold and silver were confiscated, and the stolen money of his cronies was also added to the national treasury. With the capital, the issuance of the current dynasty's coins was put on the agenda.
What Wang Zhong wrote in his memorial was a preliminary draft of several new currency styles for Li Xuansheng to choose from.
He carefully considered several coin designs for a long time and finally decided on the pattern of Dasheng Tong Bao. However, only the style was decided, and the metal ratio of the coin had yet to be determined.
He then called He Qing.
"He Qing, summon Prime Minister Wang Zhong to the palace immediately."
Not long after, Wang Zhong received a summons from the emperor in his mansion and rushed to the palace without stopping.
When he first arrived in the imperial study, he was still breathless and kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his court robe.
Li Xuansheng looked at Wang Zhong's diligent face and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
How could the Prime Minister Wang Zhong, who is so diligent and loyal, give birth to a daughter as thoughtful as the Queen?
Li Xuansheng supported himself with his elbows, tilted his head and stared at Wang Zhong for a long time, which made Wang Zhong feel a little embarrassed.
He pulled his gray beard, touched his old face, and saluted Li Xuansheng with a little embarrassment.
"Your Majesty, I, Wang Zhong, pay my respects to you. As soon as I entered the palace, you stared at me for a long time. I wonder, what is on my face?"
Li Xuansheng chuckled and waved his hand.
"Nothing, nothing, I was just distracted for a moment."
"I summoned you here to discuss the minting of new coins."
Only then did Wang Zhong feel relieved.
"May I ask your Majesty, are you satisfied with the coin designs I submitted? Which one did you finally decide on?"
Li Xuansheng raised his eyebrows slightly, still holding the memorial submitted by Wang Zhong in his hand, and pointed out the pattern of Dasheng Tongbao to him.
"I've seen the styles you chose. They're very thoughtful and very good."
"I think Dasheng Tongbao is the best. What do you think, Prime Minister Wang?"
Li Xuansheng's polite words touched Wang Zhong deeply, and he bowed repeatedly to express his gratitude.
"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. If Your Majesty asks for my opinion, it would be a disgrace to me. Your Majesty is wise, please make the decision according to your opinion. I will order the casting."
Obviously, Li Xuansheng was very satisfied with Wang Zhong's answer. He nodded and continued:
"Although the style has been decided, the metal ratio of the coin has not yet been determined. Prime Minister Wang, what do you think?"
Before entering the palace, Wang Zhong had expected the emperor to ask him this question. After all, he had just submitted a memorial, and the new coin style had been decided. The next step was to mint the coins, and the most important thing in minting coins was the proportion of metal components.
After the Dasheng Tongbao was minted, it was to be circulated among the people. There was a certain official price for copper coins to exchange for silver, so the metal content of the copper coins was particularly important. If there was more brass, the actual value of the copper coin would become more valuable, but if there was less brass, the actual value of the copper coin would be greatly reduced.
The issue of coinage must not cause loss to the court or the people. Therefore, it must be handled with extreme caution.
Wang Zhong pondered for a moment and said slowly:
"Your Majesty, I have a suggestion. If there is too much brass in the coinage materials, the court will inevitably lose money. If there is too little brass, the new coins may not be of good quality and will be gray in color."
"So I propose that the coinage material should still follow the old rules of the previous dynasty, five parts brass and five parts lead, melted and cast."