Chapter 358 Papermaking and Printing

Pigris thought about it carefully and asked humbly: "Chief, if we really want to issue this kind of paper currency, how can we ensure that it is worth the money when we buy things with it?"

Maximus pondered and said: "To make the paper currency valuable, first of all, the number of paper currency issued by the tribe cannot be arbitrary... We must first know how much grain the entire tribe harvested and how much goods it produced in a year, and how much money it would cost to sell these grains and goods in the market...

Well, I think this data should be relatively easy to count. For grain, the Ministry of Finance has records when it collects land taxes from the tribesmen every year. For goods, the Ministry of Commerce manages various markets and can make statistics by the way. The sum of the two parts is the total wealth created by our Nix tribe through hard work in a year-"

Pigris suddenly realized and interrupted "Then when we issue banknotes, let the total value of these banknotes be equal to the total wealth created by our tribe, so that the banknotes are valuable, right, chief?!"

"You are partly right, but not completely right." Maximus continued to explain: "We also need to look at the number of times the banknotes are circulated in commerce. How to say it? ... Suppose you have a lot of chickens at home and they lay a lot of eggs. You go to the market to sell eggs and get some money. Then you use the money to buy wheat to raise chickens at home. That is to say, you use one money to participate in two transactions. If all the tribesmen in the market participate in two transactions, what does this mean?"

"This means that we only need to issue banknotes equivalent to half of the total wealth created by the tribe in a year to meet the trade activities of the entire tribe, because you just said that coins are only the medium of exchange for trade activities." Pigris blurted out.

"That's right!" Maximus nodded approvingly: "As expected of a trader, he is quick to react in this regard."

"But, chief... the number of times this currency is circulated is not easy to calculate..." Pigris complained.

Maximus smiled slightly: "It's not difficult. There is a relatively simple calculation method. The total amount of money from the market's goods sold each year divided by the annual circulation of currency is roughly the number of times the currency circulates-"

"Chief, wait a moment!" Pigris quickly stood up, ran to the secretary next to Maximus, borrowed paper and pen, returned to his seat, and asked: "Chief, can you say it again?"

Maximus described it in detail again, and seeing Pigris record it, he reminded: "This is just a rough method. To obtain more accurate data, your Ministry of Commerce must discuss it carefully, and through continuous practice and recording, figure out a better recording method.

But for now, our tribe's trade has just begun, and most of the shops in the market sell products made by the tribe's workshops. The tribesmen buy goods for their own use and rarely conduct a second transaction, so the total amount of banknotes we need to issue for the first time can be equal to the total wealth created by the tribe in a year.

In fact, even if this is done, the total amount of banknotes is still too much, because in addition to paying taxes, most of the food harvested by the fans is for their own use and will not be sold in the market. Of course, we will not issue all the banknotes at once, so the value of the banknotes should not be affected too much-"

Maximus swallowed his saliva, moistened his slightly dry throat, and continued: "With the total value of banknotes to be issued in a year, we must carefully consider the face value of each banknote. If, as Pigris said just now, one thousand gold coins are written on a banknote, it is definitely not possible. This is not convenient for buying and selling, and it is easy to cause paper The currency becomes worthless.

In this regard, we can learn from gold and silver coins. We can have different banknotes with a face value of one dupont, one ses, one dinar, one oris... The total number of them is equivalent to the total wealth created by the tribe in a year. In this way, it will be very convenient for the tribe members to go to the market to buy and sell things with banknotes of different denominations. "

"Chief, using paper money to replace gold and silver coins is a very wonderful proposal. Once implemented, it will definitely greatly promote the prosperity of the tribe's trade!" Quintus praised sincerely, and then changed the subject: "It's just... I have a few questions."

"What questions?"

Quintus said cautiously and softly: "The paper we are using now is more easily damaged. If we use it to make banknotes, the tribe members may not be able to use it after a few uses... and this paper is not like gold, silver and copper. Each piece of paper is They are exactly the same. Even if we write different denominations on them, it is easy to get confused and make mistakes when buying and selling things, especially when buying a large amount of goods..."

"This is indeed a defect of paper money, but it is easy to solve."

Maximus knows the most about paper money. He replied calmly: "The paper used to make paper money must be very different from the paper we usually use. It must be thick and tough, with a smooth surface and much better quality than ordinary paper. This requires the craftsmen in the papermaking workshop to select better papermaking materials and make it through repeated explorations...

Capito, you need to talk to the craftsmen in the papermaking workshop and ask them to set up a team specializing in making paper money and strive to make this kind of paper by the end of the year. If they succeed, the tribe will reward them. "

"Chief, after the meeting, I will go to the papermaking workshop to talk to Tormias about this matter." Capito responded slightly excitedly.

Maximus nodded and continued: "As for the worry that banknotes are easily confused, this problem is easier to solve. We can make a banknote with a face value of about one Dupont this big -"

Maximus kept writing with his hand: "A banknote with a face value of about one Seth is made this big... a banknote with a face value of about one dinar... uses the size of the banknote to show the difference in face value. The banknote with a larger face value, The paper is also larger.

In addition, we not only need to mark the face value numbers on the banknotes, but also draw different exquisite patterns on the banknotes of different denominations. This will not only make it easier for the people who use banknotes to distinguish, but also allow them to cherish the banknotes and prevent them from being damaged. . "

"Chief, when you say this, I can't help but want to get this kind of banknotes immediately to buy things." Cornelius flattered loudly.

Quintus still frowned and asked: "Chief, what you said is indeed a good idea. But we have to make small denomination banknotes that are equivalent to gold and silver coins, and the total value must be equal to the total wealth created by the tribe in a year. Quite literally, there will inevitably be a large amount of banknotes produced. You have to mark each piece of paper with numerical values ​​and draw exquisite patterns. How many people and time will it take? "

"This problem is easy to solve." Maximus sighed, looked at everyone, and said loudly: "We need to apply a new technology, and that is printing!

The school textbooks compiled by Kephisophon just now require more than ten or twenty people to copy them, and it takes a while to distribute the textbooks to every teacher to teach students... Every decree issued by our political hall also Secretariat staff are required to copy dozens or hundreds of copies, and then distribute them to various towns and villages...

But with the advent of printing, we no longer need to consume too much manpower and time. We only need to carve templates, prepare paper and ink, and we can copy hundreds of textbooks and government orders in a very short time. Thousands of copies, and the content and handwriting of each copy are exactly the same because they use the same template.

The same is true for banknotes. Using printing technology, we can obtain hundreds of thousands or millions of sheets of paper marked with values ​​and patterns without much effort.

Of course, in order to successfully use printing, the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works need to spend time and energy to carefully study the technology and processes of printing, just like the calligraphy workshop needs to create paper suitable for banknotes. I believe that in the end It will definitely succeed, and I will personally draw the patterns and values ​​for the banknotes! "

"Chief, if it's true, as you say, that printing can easily copy thousands of books with the same content, that's great!"

As a scholar, Kephisophon realized how important the application of this technology would be to the spread of knowledge. He was very excited and couldn't help but curiously asked: "Chief, where did you get this printing technology?" How come I’ve never heard of it before?”

"Whether it's printing, papermaking, or the use of paper money we just talked about to promote tribal trade, these are-" Maximus looked around the crowd and said with an extremely solemn expression: "The goddess Danu was in a dream. An inspiration to me!”

Not only Kephisophon, but everyone present was stunned.

"Maximus is the descendant of the goddess Danu" has become the consensus of the Nyx people, but most of the department officials are doubtful about this. After all, they are either Romans, Latins, or Greeks, influenced by high civilization, They have their own beliefs, but the beliefs they adhere to have become fragile in the face of Maximus's time and again showing wisdom and knowledge that is far beyond ordinary people, and even the entire Mediterranean world.

"Thank you Goddess Danu for your blessing!" Along with Karina's pious chant, everyone else involuntarily raised their hands, palms to the sky, and bowed respectfully towards Maximus, while saying the same thing. Words: "Thank you Goddess Danu for your blessing!"

"Goddess Danu will always guide the tribe. Of course, we must work together to solve the difficulties!" Maximus's voice was clear and powerful, echoing in everyone's ears.