Start a Ming Dynasty plane

Chapter 356 Currency Reform
Silver can be replaced, so Li Chaosheng can issue banknotes directly in one step?
the answer is negative.

When Li Chaosheng had this idea, Ma Tengyun of the Ministry of Commerce put forward two negative viewpoints.

First, Lantian is too small, and paper money issued in Lantian is not common throughout the country. At that time, people in Lantian did not bring silver when they left Lantian, and they could not buy anything with a stack of paper notes, so they lost the most important attribute of currency, the circulation .

The second and most important point is that the common people have used silver for thousands of years. If you suddenly replace it with paper notes, the common people will definitely not accept it. Forcibly implementing it will get twice the result with half the effort, and even cause public anger and other emotions.

And this situation is not alarmist, but there is a real case, that is, Zhu Yuanzhang once forcibly issued the Daming Hongwu Treasure Banknote.

Now piles and piles are piled up in the warehouse of the Daming Palace as waste.

There is no way that the people's living habits can't be changed all at once, and Zhu Yuanzhang's work is a bit rough. It is true to promote Hongwu Baochao, but when he implemented it, he enforced it by force. To what extent?

First, the reserve system is not implemented, that is, after the treasure banknotes are issued, normally, people can take the treasure banknotes to a bank or an institution similar to a bank, and exchange the treasure banknotes for the physical silver marked on it.

But Lao Zhu didn’t do that, only the issuance was not recycled, and it was issued without restraint. Anyone with a little knowledge of economics knows that the game must have collapsed in the end, because Daming did not have so much money to exchange for the common people, and the common people did not produce money. output so much value.

The end is the same as the gold circle coupon. Some people may not know what the gold circle coupon is. This is not easy to explain, because it involves a sensitive period, but you can compare it to the Zimbabwean currency, which is similar to carrying a sack of money to buy a roll of toilet paper.

Because of this, the Daming Hongwu Treasure Banknote turned out to be a big joke in the end. With this lesson learned, Li Chaosheng wanted to exchange the Lantian general currency into banknotes in one step. The credibility of the public will be harmed, which is not worth the candle.

For this reason, Li Chaosheng gave up the idea of ​​using banknotes, at least not for a short time.

What would you use without banknotes?

Li Chaosheng's idea is still to use silver, but the usage of this silver needs to be slightly changed. Li Chaosheng's idea is to mint silver coins.

Similar to Yuan Datou of the Republic of China.

Li Chaosheng's plan was to manufacture Lantian silver coins in a unified manner. The silver coins should be mixed metals, each worth one or two taels of silver, but the silver content in them is only [-] taels of silver, and the rest should be made up with alloys.

There are two advantages to doing this. First, for every silver dollar made, the Lantian government can earn two silver coins, and each coin earns two coins. This earns money faster than stealing money.

Secondly, with Lantian metallurgical technology, the alloy produced can help Lantian silver coins have an additional layer of anti-counterfeiting means. You must know that the biggest enemy of any currency is counterfeit coins. Therefore, Li Chaosheng first used alloy technology to improve the imitation means of making counterfeit coins, and this is still In the first step, Li Chaosheng will ask Lantian Institute of Technology to conduct research.

Among them, you can refer to the anti-counterfeiting marks of modern coins, including but not limited to continuous wire tooth technology, secret and micro-text technology, two-color inlay technology, sandblasting relief technology, invisible engraving technology, etc. Anyway, it is as complicated as possible, and it can be improved as much as possible. The difficulty of imitating counterfeit money.

It is difficult to imitate counterfeit coins, and even Li Chaosheng hopes that, as the joke says, 20 real money will be used to make 15 counterfeit coins.

For this reason, Li Chaosheng is preparing to establish professional institutions such as the Central Bank and the Lantian Mint to operate this matter.

After Li Chaosheng finished his idea, the Ministry of Commerce said that this idea is no problem, it can indeed help the government accumulate wealth quickly, but there is a problem, the silver coins made by Lantian can be recognized by Lantian people, but people outside Lantian can’t What about approval?
Li Chaosheng's method is very simple, to exchange currency within Lantian, and promote the use of silver coins in the entire Lantian area through government actions.

Secondly, all foreign businessmen who do business with Lantian will use Lantian silver coins for transactions. Silver is no longer recognized by Lantian. Merchants who come to Lantian to do business can use silver to exchange silver coins at Lantian Bank.

As for the businessman’s reluctance, I’m sorry, I won’t sell you Lantian’s products. Grain, cloth, and all kinds of commodities that are in short supply are all the treasures that Ming businessmen flock to. If they don’t do business with Lantian, they will lose the bottom line. .

And Li Chaosheng can use this method to collect the silver from the whole Ming Dynasty and flow it into Lantian, so that the government's finances can be rich at once.

After Li Chaosheng's plan was announced, Ma Tengyun and other high-achieving students from the Economics Department of Lantian Academy made inferences, thinking that while making silver coins, they could also change the copper coins in Lantian.

Now the copper coins in Lantian are all kinds of strange things, and the proportion of copper content is also very different. The officials suggested that Lantian make copper coins to replace the strange copper coins of Ming Dynasty, and set a rule for Ming coins.

Li Chaosheng thought about it for a while and decided to agree to this plan, to replace all the old copper coins in Lantian. First, the newly produced copper coins in Lantian were exchanged for one silver coin according to the regulations.

Secondly, the copper content of Lantian copper coins is higher than that of normal copper coins, so the exchange ratio with old copper coins is [-] to [-].

However, the copper content of one thousand old copper coins is more than that of eight hundred, so Lantian can also take the opportunity to restrain some copper, and the method of promotion is the same as that of silver coins.

Instead of directly banning the old copper coins and silver coins, the old coins will be replaced by new coins step by step. After this plan is finalized, it will be handed over to professionals for discussion. Chief Zhou Xinghu is in charge.

And with Zhou Xinghu as the main person in charge, a coinage committee was established. The committee members include Ma Tengyun from the Ministry of Commerce, top students and professors from the Mechanical Department of Lantian Institute of Technology, and other related personnel.

These people will spend the next month perfecting the plan, deducing loopholes, and handing over a qualified plan to Li Chaosheng. Li Chaosheng will hold an administrative meeting in the county government to discuss this matter, and then enter the experimental stage. Putting it into large-scale use, this process is not a one-shot process, but involves all aspects, and requires the full cooperation of the Lantian government to make adjustments and find the optimal solution.

The reform of the currency system in Lantian will be the focus of the next work, and the entire Lantian County Mint Committee has been busy for a while.

We have carried out research and judgment on currency exchange, circulation, anti-counterfeiting and other aspects. I am afraid that there will be a little mistake. Li Chaosheng is very generous about this. It doesn’t matter if there is a little mistake, as long as it can be corrected in time. After all, the initial stage of a policy is inevitably a bit rough , and the loopholes will be filled little by little later.

The mint department of the government was very busy, and a piece of news was quietly spread from Lantian County, that is, Lantian County Zun Li Chaosheng was not married yet, and now he was looking for a woman of the right age to marry the county Zun.

As soon as this news came out, all the powers in the world turned their attention. The Lantian County Venerable is going to find a wife. This is not a small matter, and it is not a matter of one family. His regular wife is almost one of the most honorable women in the world.

Moreover, whoever can get married with Lantian may be able to get Lantian's political inclination, which will have a huge change in the current world situation.

For a moment, all the forces in the world were shocked, and countless forces prepared to recommend themselves to Li Chaosheng, the magistrate of Lantian County.

Is Li Chaosheng an ordinary person?It can be said that he is already one of the most powerful people in the world.

For a time the world was shaken.

Jiangnan, Yanyuan, this is the gathering place of Jianghuai salt merchants, and also the gathering place of Jiangnan officials. It is normal for officials and businessmen to collude here.

At this time, a fat businessman got up and said: "Everyone has heard that Li Chaosheng, the magistrate of Lantian County, wants to choose a good match. This may be a move for me, a Jianghuai businessman, to enter Guanzhong."

After hearing this, all the businessmen and officials glanced at the fat businessman and said, "Why does your family have a daughter who wants to marry Li Chaosheng?"

The fat businessman heard the words and said: "I'm joking, think about what kind of person Li Chaosheng is, how can he marry us, a businessman's daughter."

"Then what opportunity are you talking about? Could it be that you want the adults to marry their daughters to Lantian."

After hearing this, many officials sneered and said, "Do you think we are tired of living?"

Let's go find Li Chaosheng to get married, isn't that courting death?As soon as the news from your side came out, Chongzhen could send someone to copy his family letter. Believe it or not, Li Chaosheng is already a hero. Although His Majesty didn't engage him now, anyone with knowledge knows that His Majesty can no longer tolerate Li Chaosheng. The reason for being patient now is that Li Chaosheng has not openly rebelled, and the emperor also needs Li Chaosheng's money and food, but in the future, whether it is Chongzhen's self-reflection or Li Chaosheng's growth, he will not be able to tolerate the other party, and there will be a fierce battle.

But now that I am trying to please Li Chaosheng, that is openly betraying Chongzhen. At that time, I can just find any reason, and it will be light to copy and cut all over the family. Life is long.

The fat businessman also knew what these high officials were thinking, so he squeezed out a smile and said, "My lords have misunderstood, how can I let my lords give their daughter to Li Chaosheng to bully me? I mean how thin we are on the Qinhuai River. Ma, why don’t you send a few over there.”

After hearing this, many officials frowned and said: "Are you a pig's brain? Li Chaosheng is a prince after all, and would marry a fireworks girl as his wife?"

The fat businessman waved his hand and said, "My lord, you misunderstood me. I mean that the princes of the Lantian county magistrate openly want to choose a wife. This is just like your Majesty's draft pick. They are impatient people. Since they are lustful, we can prescribe the right medicine. Send us the beauties on the Qinhuai River there, as long as Li Chaosheng is lucky, we will also have a good relationship, and we will have endless benefits if we get on the line with Lantian in the future."

After hearing this, many officials looked at each other, and one official said, "Who are the famous skinny horses on the Qinhuai River now?"

The fat businessman immediately smiled and said, "Of course it's our Qinhuai Liuyan."

"Oh, which six people?"

The fat businessman heard this and said: "Gu Hengbo, Dong Xiaowan, Bian Yujing, Li Xiangjun, Kou Baimen, Ma Xianglan, and Liu Rushi originally, but they married Qian Gong as a concubine."

After hearing this, all the officials looked at each other: "You are right, then let Liu Yan go to Lantian, and you can arrange it."

"It's my lord, I will definitely handle this matter well."

The fat businessman said with a smile, this matter is handled by him, if it is done, it will be a great credit, and he has made friends with Lan Tian, ​​so the chance to make a fortune will be his own.

All the officials also smiled at each other at this time, raised their glasses and clinked a glass, but the eyes of a few of them were full of a different kind of demeanor.

In Shanxi, Li Zicheng was sitting in the big tent and heard the news that Li Chaosheng was going to find a beautiful woman for a big wedding. He said coldly: "I work hard with others, but he Li Chaosheng married a draftee. It's really his mother's life that is different from his peers." what."

At this time, a man dressed as a scribe beside Li Zicheng said: "General Chuang, report from the front. Lu Xiangsheng fell from the Xuanfu and the Tianxiong Army is about to enter northern Shaanxi and Hong Chengchou to encircle and suppress King Chuang. We have to guard against this."

Li Zicheng heard this and said: "Well, I have offered a plan to remind a certain family that Chuang Wang must not make mistakes. Let Liu Zongmin, Li Guo, Li Jin, and Hao Yaoqi return with their troops and follow me to intercept Lu Xiangsheng's troops. Don't let them go." He besieged King Chuang."

"Yes."

After hearing this, Song Xiance, a scribe, cupped his hands and said, "Yes."

Soon Song Xiance went to notify several generals, at this time Li Zicheng looked at the guard captain Li Shichao standing guard at the door and said: "Shi Chao, you have guarded a certain house all day and night, now you are safe, go back and rest. "

"Yes."

Li Shichao bowed his hands and retreated, and told his left and right: "You must protect the general."

"Yes."

The guards said with a serious face, Li Zicheng cupped his hands and said: "Thank you, brothers."

Li Zicheng told everyone in a very easy-going way that Li Zicheng could become the leader of the rebel army. Apart from his ability, he also had personal charm, especially for his brothers.

Kuimen, Funiu Mountain, here is the gateway to Sichuan, a place that has been contested by military strategists since ancient times, there is a group of sons and daughters here, and there are two people at the head, one is called Hong Niangzi, and the other is called Song Sanniang.

"Godmother, Sister Nian Sheng bullies me, she won't let me eat her sesame biscuits."

At this moment in the main hall, a five-year-old girl pointed to a six- or seven-year-old girl and said, but the little girl said aggrievedly at this time: "Mother, sister Siyan has finished her sesame biscuits, so she wants to eat mine. I'll give it to you." She took a bite, but she wanted it, and if she didn't give it, she would sue."

At this time, the six or seven-year-old girl said aggrievedly that the girl was beautifully dressed, and although she was dressed plainly, there was a heroic look between her brows, and her mother said she looked like his father.

The girl's name was Niansheng, and her mother said her surname was Li, and her name was Li Niansheng.

(End of this chapter)