A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 11 Printing Money
Refined salt, white sugar, distilled liquor, soap, glass... penicillin, a mixture of sulfur and charcoal, and countless other things and knowledge that were currently being manufactured and invented to make huge profits appeared in Liu Ju's mind.

Unlike the drowsiness he experienced during the last elite soldier training manual, Liu Ju felt intense pain this time, his head felt like it was about to explode, and he was about to fall to the side.

Fortunately, Wei Qing realized something was wrong and reached out his right hand to hug Liu Ju. In just a moment, he noticed his nephew's weakness and supported him without changing his expression.

The generals of the Han dynasty would occasionally glance over, and seeing this scene of maternal love and filial piety, they couldn't help but smile from the bottom of their hearts.

Over the past decade, the Grand Marshal has accumulated countless military achievements, reaching a point where he could not be promoted further or rewarded again. Not to mention that his merits overshadowed the emperor, no one in the court or the country could match him.

Even His Majesty felt greatly threatened by the Grand Marshal's prestige among the military and civilians.

On the one hand, he set an example by deliberately distancing himself and reducing the opportunities for the Grand Marshal to contact his ministers and the people.

On the other hand, they vigorously supported rising stars in the army, reduced the number of times the Grand Marshal led troops into battle, and made room for the new talents.

Huo Qubing, the Commandant of the Piaoyao Army, emerged out of nowhere, and with his extraordinary personal charm, he roamed freely both at home and abroad. There were even rumors that in the spring of the following year, His Majesty would dismiss the Grand Marshal and let the Commandant of the Piaoyao Army lead a northern expedition alone.

Whether considering the impact or seeking to achieve great deeds, Han generals turned away from Wei Qing and became close to Huo Qubing.

But who doesn't know that with the Crown Prince's existence, the Grand Marshal and the Commandant of the Piaoyao Army are essentially one family? They're just putting on an act for His Majesty, and they both know the truth but shouldn't take it seriously.

In short, harmony is of utmost importance.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Wei Qing kept repeating, "Ju'er, as you said, I have erased all information and records of these eight hundred people from the court and local authorities. Under heaven, apart from the files in your possession, no one can find them. By the way, the Prime Minister has been quite helpful in this matter..."

The Prime Minister's residence is practically a miniature imperial court; nothing in the world can bypass it.

After his nephew finished explaining the matter of the personal guard register, Wei Qing, as the uncle, immediately arranged for someone to handle it. However, just as he touched the register, someone from the Prime Minister's residence arrived.

Wei Qing then realized that crucial information such as the entire Han Dynasty's household registration, topography, laws, military deployments, and grain distribution were all in the Prime Minister's residence. It would be impossible to "erase" the traces of hundreds of people's existence without the Prime Minister's help.

Wei Qing had no choice but to explain that it was the Crown Prince's intention. After the people from the Prime Minister's residence came to understand, they returned home. Not long after, a fire broke out in the Prime Minister's residence's storehouse, and one room was burned down because the fire could not be extinguished in time.

The files of the 800 members of the Crown Prince's personal guard are among them.

They knew perfectly well what was going on!

"Thank you uncle."

After a while, Liu Ju felt a little better. Although his face was still pale and bloodless, after being exposed to the sun for so many days, his dark face didn't show any signs of anything.

Wei Qing shook his head and said, "Now His Majesty has ordered you to build your own Crown Prince's Palace, establish your own residence and headquarters, and you will be responsible for all expenses. We, your uncle and nephew, both know that His Majesty is forcing you to bow your head and take the initiative to submit a letter to accept the arrangements of the Grand Tutor and Junior Tutor. The gold in front of you can last for a while, but how long can it last? Moreover, the three thousand two hundred men sent by the Southern Army are on their way."

The wrath of the emperor is like thunder, unbearable.

Clearly, Liu Ju's rebellion provoked His Majesty's fury. Compared to "a son who is not like his father," His Majesty, or rather all emperors, disliked "a son who resembles his father" even more.

His Majesty's attitude was simple: since you want to be independent from me, then be independent financially first.

In the distant future, the Crown Prince's palace and the establishment of his own residence and military headquarters all require money. In the near future, the replenishment of troops for the Crown Prince's central guard and the Crown Prince's personal guard also requires money.

With two guards totaling four thousand men, if Liu Ju were to sit idly by and squander his wealth, he would struggle to support even eight hundred men, let alone with the arrival of another three thousand two hundred.

According to the Southern Army generals, these 3,200 men were selected by His Majesty's order from the entire army by the Commandant of the Guards, Li Guang, as the 3,200 men with the greatest appetites.

If everyone is treated equally, meat, vegetables, fruits, and tea will be plentiful, enough to eat Liu Ju out of house and home.

Liu nodded and said, "Yes. Uncle, could you do me another favor?" "What?"

"Contact some weaving workshops in Chang'an."

……

This was probably the largest silk weaving workshop in the Han Dynasty.

At first glance, there are six jacquard looms, each about ten feet wide, arranged horizontally. There is also a passage in the middle that can accommodate two people walking side by side. Walking along the passage to the end, there are twenty rows of looms.

Every loom was weaving silk, the sounds of weaving rising and falling.

The flower arranger sat on the flower tower, while the weaver sat in front of the loom, working together seamlessly to pull up a bunch of fabric and throw down a shuttle.

There is a saying: "To become rich from poverty, farming is not as good as industry, industry is not as good as commerce, and embroidery is not as good as working in a shop."

In Liu Ju's view, none of these profitable means of making a living were as good as printing money.

Of course, Liu Ju didn't have gold, silver, or copper mines, nor did he have the right to mint coins, so he couldn't directly use molds to print money.

But nowadays, there is another kind of "currency".

silk.

The general term is 缯 or 帛.

The finest among gold and silver treasures.

There are many varieties of silk or brocade. According to the different raw materials and dyeing and weaving techniques, they can be divided into brocade, damask, brocade, gauze, gauze, silk, silk, silk, silk, silk, silk, silk, silk, silk, silk, plain silk, silk, silk, woven silk, etc.

The six major types of silk fabrics in the world, from the lowest to the highest quality, are silk, gauze, damask, brocade, and embroidery.

Silk, gauze, damask, and brocade have remained unchanged for thousands of years, both then and now, and will remain so in the future. There is no need to elaborate further. However, the most valuable are brocade and embroidery.

Embroidery uses fine silk, gauze, or damask as the base, and colorful silk threads are used to create patterns. The "Xinqi Embroidery," "Changshou Embroidery," and "Chengyun Embroidery" are three famous embroidery styles that are renowned throughout the world and are naturally more precious than brocade.

The highest level of textiles in the Han Dynasty was brocade, and the finest brocade was called "pile brocade," also known as "velvet loop brocade."

The jacquard tufting features distinct layers of brocade patterns, alternating loop sizes, and a three-dimensional design, resulting in an extremely luxurious appearance.

This weaving workshop is the velvet loop brocade workshop.

A bolt of silk four zhang long once sold for 80,000 coins.

A man dressed in a blue coarse cloth long gown and flat black cloth shoes, who looked like a merchant but exuded a refined air, was smiling as he accompanied Wei Qing and Liu Ju as they walked and looked around in the passage.

"Outstanding businessperson".

Liu Ju thought of a tool with small wheels installed in a chute, which could move back and forth very quickly. He looked at the merchant accompanying them and asked, "Name your price for this workshop?"

The man called Zhuo Shang was taken aback when the Crown Prince asked him a question. He replied, “Your Highness, weaving in two shifts for twelve hours a day, one loom can weave six feet a day. If we weave like this every day, we can weave six thousand bolts of silk a year. To be honest, that’s a profit of several million coins. If it were anyone else, I would never sell a golden hen that lays eggs. But how about ten million coins for you?”
Furthermore, my master has a request that Your Highness accept, and the payment is the indenture of these weavers.”

(End of this chapter)