Chapter 767
White Silver Bricks
Pan Yun first introduced Cao Jixiang to her eldest nephew: "This is Wang Cong, my eldest nephew, who will be the abbot of Sanqing Temple on Sanqing Mountain in the future. He was in charge of the mining of silver in Japan this time. If it weren't for his and Lord Kuangping's proper organization, we wouldn't have been able to refine 200,000 taels of silver in three months."
Cao Jixiang's eyes flickered slightly. After carefully examining Wang Cong, he smiled and said, "Indeed, a handsome man. Congratulations, Master Pan, on having a worthy successor."
Pan Yun smiled and said, "He is my senior brother's son. He grew up in the temple. However, he was born to be hardworking and had to earn money to support his family at a young age. Fortunately, he is well-versed in poetry and literature and has not lost his ambition. I am willing to let him give it a try. If he succeeds, it will be to serve the country. If he fails, it will just be a small hurdle in life."
She said, "I will hand over all three ships to him, and he will also be in charge of the affairs in Japan in the future. I hope Lord Cao will take good care of me in the future."
Cao Jixiang looked at Wang Cong with a different gaze and laughed, "No wonder he wouldn't allow me to go on the boat to take inventory just now. He is indeed steady and follows the rules. Master Pan has a worthy successor."
This is the second time someone has taken over, isn't that enough?
Pan Jun thought that was enough, so he asked Wang Cong to accompany him and lead Cao Jixiang to count the silver.
After everyone had disembarked from the cargo hold, Xuanmiao pushed open the door and came out of the cabin. She glanced at their backs and shook her head.
Tao Ji, who was following behind her, was full of admiration: "Junior Sister is getting more and more amazing. She doesn't seem like she's only in her teens. She's more like Second Senior Brother."
Xuanmiao: "Second Senior Brother has her thoughts, but not her courage. If he had just a little more courage, he would have already become the Director of the Imperial Observatory."
She stopped Miaozhen and the others, saying, "Leave these chores to them. You take Hongyan and Xiaohong with you. More and more people will be coming soon, including many Taoists. It won't be good if they find Hongyan and Xiaohong."
Miaozhen agreed and went to find Xiaohong and Hongyan, while Miaohe and Tao Yanbai turned around to take away the remaining things in the house.
Xuanmiao glanced around, his eyes narrowing slightly, and asked, "Where's the club?"
Tao Ji sighed and said, "Junior Sister always carries it with her. She says that just smelling it can make her feel refreshed."
Xuanmiao nodded slightly: "There will be many people and eyes after we land. It's safest for him to stay with Junior Sister."
The cargo hold was always guarded, with two people every five steps. The doors below were guarded by groups of three, with four groups taking turns. The key was only on Wang Cong. It could be said that they did their best to protect the cargo.
Wang Cong unlocked the door, pushed it open, and found a fishing line stretched out inside.
The silver fishing line was almost invisible in the dimly lit cargo hold. If someone were to enter rashly and touch the fishing line, the iron ball attached to it would roll off and crash into the gong on the chassis. The sound would then travel through the internal holes and be heard throughout the entire ship.
Wang Cong carefully removed the mechanism before stepping aside to let everyone inside.
Cao Jixiang nodded slightly, making no attempt to hide his appreciation for them, and then walked in with his head down.
The cargo hold wasn't tall, but it was quite large, and there were many crates stacked inside.
Wang Cong asked the young officials accompanying him to help carry down a box.
The box was sealed with a tape and had a mechanical lock.
It was on each box.
The mechanism lock is also very simple. Just turn the wooden bar, and if the password is correct, the tenon and mortise will pop up and lock, and then the box can be opened.
The box was opened, revealing a silvery-white interior that shone brightly under the lamplight in the dim light.
Cao Jixiang's heart fluttered. He stepped forward and reached out to touch the perfectly laid silver bricks.
Pan Yun ignored his infatuated gaze and took out a piece directly.
The silver brick is a cube, about the size of half a brick, and feels heavy in your hand.
Pan Yun handed the silver brick to Cao Jixiang. Cao Jixiang found it surprisingly heavy and almost dropped it. Suppressing his excitement, Cao Jixiang examined it carefully and asked, "How much does this one weigh?"
Pan Yun: "Thirty catties."
Cao Jixiang: "How much?"
His voice almost split.
Pan Yun reiterated: "Thirty catties, one foot and three inches long, four inches wide, and three inches and one inch thick."
Cao Jixiang took a deep breath and examined the silver brick closely under the light. He noticed that one wide side and four narrow sides seemed to be engraved with characters. He scrutinized the characters under the light, unsure of their meaning: "Are these the characters 'Jun En' (Imperial Grace)?"
Wang Cong replied, "Yes, the wide side is inscribed with 'Imperial Grace,' while the four narrow sides are inscribed with the words 'People's Livelihood.'"
Moreover, the combined area of the four narrow sides is exactly one inch larger than the Emperor's Grace, which was a mold specially designed by Xue Shao.
Wang Cong didn't quite understand at the time, but he felt great when he found out. Now, looking at the silver brick in Cao Jixiang's hand, he suddenly understood.
Cao Jixiang, clearly unaware of the deeper meaning, laughed and said, "Master Pan, you've gone to great lengths. Could it be that every single silver brick is engraved with such words?"
Pan Yun glanced at him and said speechlessly, "Just make a mold, who would bother to carve it piece by piece?"
This would take too much time. Yinshan is already short-staffed, how could she possibly do something like this?
Pan Yun said, “Every single one of these has such a mark, and not only now, but all the silver bricks that the imperial court will transport back from Dasen Township in the future will have such a mark. It is both to prevent counterfeiting and to prevent theft.”
Cao Jixiang exclaimed, "What a brilliant idea!"
He looked at several silver bricks, then picked out a few boxes and opened them. As he looked at them one by one, the joy in his heart welled up like a spring, and he couldn't suppress the smile on his face: "It's just a pity that they are all silver bricks. If they were silver ingots, they could be used directly."
Pan Jun: "The volume of silver ingots transported by ship will increase, and they will also be more easily damaged."
Silver ingots are so nice to touch. The largest silver ingot is fifty taels, but most silver ingots on the market are five or ten taels.
If the silver is to be made into ingots, it is obviously intended for direct use, so most of them would be made into five-tael, ten-tael, and twenty-tael ingots.
At that time, anyone can easily find an ingot and hide it in their pocket.
She made it into a 30-pound silver brick; let them steal it if they dare!
She wanted to see how they would settle this score.
Upon hearing Pan Yun's suggestion, Cao Jixiang immediately realized and nodded repeatedly: "Silver bricks are indeed better."
They opened more than a dozen boxes, randomly picked a few, and took out all the silver bricks to check. They weighed them one by one and confirmed that the weight and quality were fine. Cao Jixiang nodded and said, "Very good, I will have someone come aboard to count them."
Cao Jixiang only conducted spot checks. When the accountant came aboard to count the silver, every single silver brick had to be weighed to confirm that the weight and silver content were correct before it was recorded.
Pan Yun had no objections.
Cao Jixiang waved to a member of the Imperial Guard, and soon, officers from the Maritime Trade Office surrounded the two ships.
Everyone on board, except those still on guard, was checked and disembarked. The two ships were then isolated from the other ships and surrounded by officers and soldiers.
On the shore, Quanzhou Prefect Lu Mingzhe and Naval Advisor Gong Xia stood together, looking at the two surrounded ships. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "General Gong, how much silver do you think Pan Yun brought back from Japan?"
Gong Xia: "How did I find out?" (End of Chapter)