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In the capital, officials from the Ministry of Revenue were doing accounting.

The abacus beads clicked and clattered from morning till night.

In dozens of rooms, hundreds of accountants were fiddling with abacuses and flipping through ledgers, without even looking up.

The sounds merged together, like a downpour, rushing and pattering.

There's no way around it, I have too many debts.

The Middle East and the Arab world have been conquered. How big is that land?
From the Western Regions to the Persian Gulf, from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea, from the Caucasus to the Arabian Sea, covering an area of ​​thousands of miles.

How many people are there? Several million households.

How abundant are its resources? Gold mines, silver mines, copper mines, oil, cotton, spices—you name it, it has it.

Zhang Zhao, the Minister of Revenue, sat in the main hall, looking at the stacks of account books, and rubbed his temples.

The vice minister beside him leaned over and said, "Minister, the accounts from the west are piled up in three rooms. We're short-handed; could you transfer some more people?"

Zhang Zhao shook his head: "We can't transfer anyone. We have piles of accounts in Jiangnan, piles of accounts in Liaodong, and piles of accounts in Goryeo. We're short of people everywhere."

The vice minister asked with a pained expression, "Then what should we do?"

Zhang Zhao thought for a moment: "Transfer them from the Imperial Academy. Let those recent graduates come and help. After a few months, when they've learned accounting, they can be assigned to various places."

The Vice Minister nodded: "Alright, I'll take care of it right away."

But the busiest people weren't the Ministry of Revenue or the Ministry of Works, but the merchants.

After the Abbasid Caliphate was conquered, industrial products from the Great Zhou Dynasty flooded westward like a tidal wave.

Silk, porcelain, and tea are all highly sought-after items.

Now that we have steam engines, cement roads, and trains, transportation costs have dropped significantly, and prices have followed suit.

In the past, a piece of silk transported to Persia would sell for fifty taels of silver.

Now it only costs twenty taels.

The Persians looted like madmen.

"The silk from the Great Zhou Dynasty is both cheap and of high quality! I want ten bolts!"

"The porcelain from the Great Zhou Dynasty is far superior to what we make ourselves! Give me twenty pieces!"

"The tea from the Great Zhou Dynasty is invigorating! I'll take the whole case!"

After looting the silk, they looted the porcelain.

After looting the porcelain, they looted the tea.

After looting the tea, there were also ironware, cloth, medicinal herbs, furniture...

Merchants from the Great Zhou Dynasty transported industrialized products to the West in batches.

Some people took trains, some rode camels, and some took boats.

Wherever we go, we sell our goods.

After selling the goods, they would buy gold, silver, jewelry, spices, and fine horses from the local area and transport them back to the Great Zhou.

One round trip, and you can earn several times your initial investment.

There was a Yangzhou merchant surnamed Chen who specialized in the silk business.

On his first trip to Persia, he brought five hundred bolts of silk and sold them for eight thousand taels of silver.

On his return, he bought 200 catties of spices and 100 catties of jewelry, transported them back to Yangzhou, and sold them for 12,000 taels.

Manager Chen did the math and grinned from ear to ear, "This deal is a great one."

He went again the following year.

This time they brought 800 horses and sold them for 15,000 taels.

He came back and bought more things, which sold for 20,000 taels.

In the third year, he simply opened a shop in the port of Persia, hired a few locals to help him, and sold goods from the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Those merchants from the Western Regions initially competed with the people of the Great Zhou for business.

After two years of robbing, he realized he couldn't compete, so he simply stopped robbing and switched to running errands for the Zhou people.

There was a Arab merchant named Abdullah who used to sell spices.

After the Zhou people arrived, his spices stopped selling...

The spices from the Great Zhou Dynasty are cheap and of good quality, so who would still buy them?

Abdullah was extremely worried.

Later, someone suggested to him: "Why don't you help the people of Da Zhou sell their goods? You know the way, you can talk, and you can run errands. The people of Da Zhou will give you some money, which is much better than selling spices."

Abdullah thought about it and agreed that it made sense.

So he found a merchant from the Great Zhou Dynasty and said, "I'll help you sell your goods, and you'll give me a cut, okay?"

The merchant from Da Zhou looked at him and nodded: "Alright. Let's try it for three months first."

After three months of trying, Abdullah earned twice as much money as he had before selling spices.

He was overjoyed and told everyone he met, "The people of Da Zhou are good, they keep their word, and if you work for them, you'll have food to eat."

……

More and more merchants from all over the country are coming.

Some of them came from Rome, with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing long robes, and speaking in a gibberish.

Some came from India; they had dark skin, wore headscarves, and liked to eat with their hands.

Some came from Southeast Asia; they were short, had dark brown skin, and liked to chew betel nuts.

The West Market of the capital has become the largest market in the world.

Korean ginseng and hibiscus sulfur came from the east, spices from the South Seas and Indian cotton cloth came from the south, gold and silver from the Arab world and Roman glass came from the west, and cattle and sheep from the grasslands and furs from Siberia came from the north, filling pits and valleys to the brim.

The people on the street were of all skin colors, dressed in all kinds of clothes, and spoke all kinds of accents.

There were Han Chinese in long robes, Khitans in fur robes, Arabs with headscarves, Southeast Asians with bare chests, and Romans with blond hair and blue eyes.

Standing at the street corner, you can hear more than a dozen different languages ​​every day.

The people in the capital had long been used to it.

"Another group of foreigners has arrived."

What do you sell?

"I don't know, but I'll definitely buy something."

"Buy it! Only a fool wouldn't make money."

There was an old lady who ran a small stall in the West Market, selling steamed buns.

Foreigners passing by would smell the aroma and buy a few to try.

One taste and it's delicious, so I bought several more.

The old lady's business was getting better and better, and she couldn't handle it all by herself, so she called her son and daughter-in-law to help.

That day, the son finally asked the question that had been bothering him, "Mom, can you understand those foreigners who speak in such a gibberish language?"

The old woman shook her head: "I don't understand. But as long as they give me money, I'll take the bread. I don't need to say anything."

My son smiled, and I suddenly felt that I was truly happy with my life now.

……

When those foreigners arrived in the capital and Bianliang, they couldn't take it all in.

A Roman merchant named Marcus was visiting the capital for the first time.

He stood at the city gate, looking at the wide street, his mouth agape, "This street is ten times wider than the streets in Rome!"

He walked forward and saw those tall buildings.

Some are made of wood, some are made of bricks and tiles, and some are five or six stories high.

He looked up until his neck ached, "This building is five times taller than the one in Rome!"

He walked into a shop and saw the goods.

Silk, porcelain, tea, ironware, cloth, medicinal herbs, and furniture were displayed in abundance.

He looked at this and touched that, saying, "The things in this store are half the price of what they are back home!"

He pulled out a handful of silver coins and asked the shopkeeper, "How many of these can I buy?"

The shopkeeper glanced at the silver coins and shook his head: "We don't accept these. We only accept dragon coins."

Marcus was stunned: "Dragon Yuan? What is Dragon Yuan?"

The shopkeeper took out a piece of paper and handed it to him: "This is the new banknote issued by the Great Zhou Dynasty. One note is worth one tael of silver. With this, you can spend it anywhere."

Marcus took the paper and examined it from all angles.

It has words, patterns, and a number printed on it.

Thin and light, yet very beautiful and exquisite.

"This... a piece of paper, can it really be used as money?"

"Yes. We people of the Great Zhou all use this, which corresponds to gold and silver."

Marcus was skeptical.

Then, he exchanged the corresponding silver coins with the shopkeeper for some paper, and then went to another shop to buy some things.

The shopkeeper accepted it, gave change, and it was all in paper form.

He went to the third, fourth, and fifth stores.

We'll take them all.

Marcus was convinced. He returned to the first shop and asked the shopkeeper, "Where can I exchange this Dragon Coin?"

The shopkeeper pointed to the street corner: "Over there, the Ministry of Revenue's money exchange office. You can exchange silver, gold, or jewelry, it's all fine."

Marcus went to the money exchange and exchanged all the silver he had brought for dragon coins.

He felt at ease with a stack of dragon coins in his pocket.

He later discovered that the paper was more effective than silver.

The silver was heavy; carrying just a few ounces made my back ache.

Paper is light; you wouldn't feel it even if you carried a hundred taels.

Money is easy to lose, but paper can be kept in a pocket close to your body.

Money is hard to divide, but paper can be torn in half so everyone can spend their own.

What's even better is that this paper can be used anywhere.

He can spend money in the capital, and he can also spend it when he takes the train to Bianliang, Yangzhou, and Guangzhou.

He also heard that it could be spent in Talas, Samarkand, Baghdad, and Persian Port.

With the Dragon Essence in hand, one can travel the world without fear.

Marcus was utterly impressed. "The people of Zhou are truly clever."

Gradually, those foreigners started using Longyuan.

Merchants from the Arab world, after selling their goods, didn't exchange them for silver; instead, they exchanged them directly for dragon coins.

Clutching a stack of dragon coins, I took the train home.

After arriving home, I will use the Dragon Coins to buy goods from the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Merchants from India did the same.

The same applies to merchants from Rome.

Merchants from Southeast Asia were the same.

Over time, Longyuan became the universal currency.

Roman merchants arrived, using dragon coins.

Indian merchants came, using dragon coins.

Merchants from Southeast Asia came and used dragon coins.

When the herdsmen from the grasslands come, they also need to use Longyuan.

Gold and silver were not allowed to circulate in the market, so people had to go to money shops to exchange them for dragon coins.

……

The officials in the Ministry of Revenue were busy printing money every day.

How much was printed, how much was distributed, how much was recycled, and how much was destroyed—all were recorded in a single notebook.

Someone asked Zhang Zhao, "Minister Zhang, aren't you afraid of the currency devaluation from printing so much money?"

Zhang Zhao smiled, led the man to the door of a warehouse, and pushed the door open.

The man looked inside and his eyes widened in disbelief.

The warehouse was piled high with gold and silver.

Gold bars, gold bricks, gold cakes, silver ingots, silver coins, and silver blocks were piled up as high as mountains.

Under the lamplight, the gold and silver glittered dazzlingly, making it hard to open one's eyes. "Minister, this...this is..."

Zhang Zhao said, "We control the gold mines of the Abbasid Caliphate, the silver mines of the Persian Gulf, the copper mines of Southeast Asia, and the iron mines of the steppes. With gold and silver flowing in from abroad, our banknotes will become more valuable."

The man swallowed hard. "I understand."

……

After 25 years of prosperity, the Dragon Yuan officially became a global unified currency.

From Rome to Japan, from India to the steppes, everyone recognizes this.

A single sheet of paper, weighing only a few ounces, can buy a cow, be exchanged for a bolt of silk, or feed an entire family for a month.

The lives of the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty are getting better day by day.

We used to only eat meat once a year during Chinese New Year, but now we eat meat every day.

I used to wear the same clothes for three years, but now I change three pieces a year.

We used to live in mud-brick houses, now we live in brick and tile houses.

In the past, we traveled on foot; now we travel by train.

In the capital, every household has a few new things.

There is a coal stove and a heated kang (a traditional heated bed), so it's not cold in winter.

There are electric lights, so it's not dark at night.

There was a radio, so we could listen to operas and news.

With a sewing machine, clothes can be made quickly.

Having a bicycle makes it convenient to go out.

The elderly people who came from the countryside stood on the street, staring at this scene, their eyes wide with astonishment. "This...this isn't the human world; it's paradise!"

The young man next to him laughed, "Old man, this is the world. His Majesty said he would let us live a good life."

The old man nodded, wiping his eyes. "Good days... truly good days..."

An old lady sat in front of her house, watching the cars rushing by on the street, the foreigners coming and going, and the bright electric lights. Suddenly, she remembered something from decades ago.

At that time, she was young and had just married into Bianliang.

Back then, there was still a war going on, and we lived in constant fear, not knowing when we would die.

They used copper coins to buy things, walked everywhere, and lit oil lamps at night, filling the house with black smoke.

What now?
There's no more war, and we're at peace.

When you buy things, you use Longyuan; when you travel by train, the lights are as bright as day when you turn them on at night.

She had lived for over seventy years and had never seen anything like it.

The old lady suddenly thought of her family members who had died young. "If you were still here, how wonderful that would be! This would be a truly peaceful and prosperous world."

……

In the autumn of the twenty-fifth year of the prosperous era, Su Ning stood on the city wall of the capital, gazing at the capital city he had built with his own hands.

Below the city walls, traffic flowed and people came and went.

In the distance, a train roared past, carrying loads of goods and people.

The train's whistle sounded, one after another, carrying far and wide.

Further away, the factory chimneys belch white smoke, day and night.

The white smoke rose into the sky, slowly dissipated, and mixed with the clouds.

The Empress stood behind him and said softly, "Your Majesty, it has been thirty-six years."

Suning nodded.

Thirty-six years have passed.

From the first year of the prosperous era to the twenty-fifth year of the prosperous era, from the study camp to the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, from Bianliang to the capital, from a well to the whole world.

He recalled the time thirty-six years ago when he climbed out of a well.

At that time, he was fourteen years old, skin and bones, covered in mud, hiding in a refugee camp drinking thin porridge, and being kicked around by people.

Now, he is fifty-one years old, the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the most powerful person in the entire world.

He transformed this land into something no one could believe.

"Your Majesty," Empress Lin suddenly said softly, "I just passed by the West Market and saw those foreigners buying things with silver dollars. A merchant from Rome bought a whole cartload of silk and paid with a large stack of silver dollars. The shopkeeper was all smiles."

Su Ning smiled. "Those foreigners didn't believe in the Dragon Yuan at first. But now?"

Empress Lin laughed too: "Now everyone's scrambling to get them. I heard that in Rome, there are already people who specialize in the Dragon Dollar business—shipping goods from Great Zhou, not selling the goods, only collecting Dragon Dollars. They then use the Dragon Dollars to buy goods in Rome and ship them back to Great Zhou to sell. They make money twice over."

Suning nodded. "That's the power of money."

Empress Lin then asked with a puzzled look, "Your Majesty, now that the Dragon Yuan has become the universal currency, what will happen in the future?"

Su Ning gazed into the distance and remained silent for a moment. “From now on, we have to manage this money. We can’t let it be printed indiscriminately, we can’t let it depreciate, and we can’t let it be counterfeited. The Ministry of Revenue should set up a special department to manage the printing, issuance, recall, and destruction of banknotes. We must keep a clear record of where every single dragon coin came from and where it went.”

Empress Lin nodded, seemingly understanding.

“Furthermore,” Su Ning said, “we also have to regulate those foreigners who use Dragon Yuan. Anyone who wants to use Dragon Yuan must abide by the rules of the Great Zhou. Anyone who doesn’t abide by the rules will not be allowed to use it.”

Empress Lin laughed, "Your Majesty, this is even more intense than fighting a war."

Su Ning laughed, “War is difficult too! As time goes by, rebellions and turmoil in the Abbasid Caliphate and the Middle East will inevitably continue, so we need the spirit of the Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains to maintain our rule forever.”

In the distance, the setting sun bathed the entire capital city in a golden-red hue.

The factory chimneys are still belching white smoke, the trains are still roaring by, the cars are still running around on the streets, and the people are still busy.

As Su Ning watched all this, she suddenly felt very calm.

No matter how difficult it is to rule over a foreign race, I must continue to strive.

Moreover, Confucianism is very suitable, and Su Ning believes that the scholars of the Great Zhou can integrate the world.

Therefore, even though Suning has long implemented modern scientific education, it has not completely abolished Confucian education.

...(End of this chapter)