prosperous age

Chapter 949 1038 Travel

Wei Guangde also suggested making silver treasures of the Ming Dynasty, and stipulated the regulations of copper coins of the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, he also established a system for making money circulated in the Ming Dynasty, and prohibited the private use of privately minted coins, ingots and other items.

"Uncle, in fact, the gold collected by the imperial court does not have to be stored in the form of gold ingots. It can also be made into gold treasures of the Ming Dynasty according to the method of making money. The imperial court will also increase its profits by more than 10%.

However, the exchange price of gold and silver is uncertain, so gold can be temporarily not included in money making, and can only be used for storage in the court and palace, or can be distributed as rewards. "

Wei Guangde continued.

Zhang Juzheng thought for a long time and then said worriedly: "Shandai, I understand what you mean.

Indeed, this can redefine the monetary system of the Ming Dynasty and rectify the local illegal gentry's private coinage.

It is possible to make Ming Dynasty silver treasures and to enforce it through the government. I am afraid there will be great resistance from below. "

When Zhang Juzheng heard Wei Guangde's suggestion for the first time, he was delighted, but upon further reflection, there were many problems.

It’s not that the idea is bad, but that in the actual promotion process, local and private resistance will be very strong.

Local opposition is because making money will seriously affect the government's income.

You must know that the finances of the Ming Dynasty were financed by local governments at all levels, and they were not financed by the imperial court as a whole.

This resulted in local governments having to levy miscellaneous taxes in addition to the taxes paid to the court every year to maintain the operation of the government.

Except for the salaries of higher-level officials, the salaries of other government personnel are expense items of miscellaneous taxes.

After a year's revenue and expenditure is summarized, if there is a deficit, I will usually increase miscellaneous taxes in the next year to fill the hole. If there is a surplus, it will fall into the officials' pockets through clever design.

This is the financial system of the Ming Dynasty.

It was originally designed in this way to minimize the burden on the people as long as the officials are dedicated to their duties and have an honest and honest work attitude.

The government designs miscellaneous taxes based on the approximate annual expenditure and distributes them to acres or people.

When a local area encounters a big project that needs to be implemented, the government will call together the gentry and village elders, and everyone will raise funds together to raise funds for good causes such as paving roads and building bridges.

When it comes to projects such as water conservancy projects, the government uses corvees to carry out the projects, and funds are also raised.

However, when the moral limits of Ming officials continued to decline, the huge loophole of miscellaneous taxes became a means for officials to make money.

It is inevitable to find ways to expand the government budget and increase the assessment of miscellaneous taxes.

After three years of purging the prefecture, one hundred thousand snowflakes of silver were earned. This is a true portrayal of how officials in this era made money.

Among them, the consumption of taxes has actually existed for a long time, and it did not appear after the whipping method.

After all, no local government would deposit millions of copper coins to pay taxes to the Ministry of Household Affairs in the capital. They would all convert them into silver according to the system and hand them over.

Among them, the fineness of silver is another place where officials have their hands set.

One hundred thousand taels of silver can be of high or low quality.

Although the imperial court has a system for this, you can still get a lot of benefits if you just ignore it.

The court stipulates that the silver must be 80% of the silver. Well, give the warehouse ambassador a bribe, and he will turn a blind eye and enter the warehouse with 70% of the silver.

If it's 10,000 taels of tax money, and I can earn hundreds of taels of silver from this alone, and also establish a good relationship with the warehouse ambassador, why not do it.

Of course Zhang Juzheng knew the tricks of the people below, but he was also helpless.

The law does not punish everyone, everyone is like this, even their close followers and disciples, how to punish them.

He can only turn a blind eye. As long as he does not go too far, the court will not impose punishment, and people are the birth of unspoken rules.

Wei Guangde proposed making money, which would not only break folk payment habits, but also break some unspoken rules in officialdom.

It is difficult for them to make profit from it.

You know, making money privately is not a small crime.

If the silver is not of sufficient quality, the warehouse ambassador can say that he is cheating and has been deceived by a mermaid, but the authenticity of the money is not a matter of cheating.

Officials who paid taxes were also charged with the same crime, which could easily lead to a serious case of confiscation of homes and extermination of families.

Because among the people, ingots and broken silver have always been used as payment methods.

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng was deeply worried about Wei Guangde's suggestion that Ming Dynasty money should be used as the only currency in circulation. It was probably difficult for local officials and people to accept it.

"hehe."

Wei Guangde actually understood Zhang Juzheng's concerns, but he felt that he could not stop doing this because of this.

"Uncle, you should know what the current situation of silver coins in circulation in our Ming Dynasty is like. How does it compare with the Yiren silver coins in your hand?"

Wei Guangde just chuckled and said, "I think I will come to the country tomorrow and all the nations will come to the court, but when envoys from foreign vassals buy and sell goods in the Ming Dynasty market, all they see is broken silver bitten by their teeth. What will they think?"

What Wei Guangde said was not nonsense.

In ancient China, only copper coins were generally made, and gold and silver coins were rarely made. They were usually made only in the palace. For rewards, the folk used broken silver.

In later generations, the gold and silver items we saw in gold shops were all sparkling and dazzling.

But whether it was in the Ming Dynasty, the previous dynasty, or the later Qing Dynasty, except for the ingots collected in the homes of wealthy families, most of them were dark.

Gold ingots are better. No matter how you refine them, silver ingots will turn into a pitch-black mess after being stored for a long time because they will oxidize.

Moreover, the ingots made into treasures are only for storage and look good, and there are very few opportunities for actual use.

The purchasing power of gold and silver was astonishing in ancient times. There were few opportunities to use ingots directly, and even if they were available, they would not be used up, so special scissors had to be used to cut off part of them.

Many ingots handed down to later generations have pitted edges, which means part of them was cut off to pay bills.

Gold, due to its color characteristics, will be more recognizable, while the appearance of silver may surprise people.

In later generations of movies and TV dramas, the silver of the ancients was shiny and valuable at first glance, but it was just a prop and was fake.

In reality, the silver circulating in the Ming Dynasty was dirty and black, with teeth marks all over it. Even if it fell on the ground, you might not be able to tell whether it was a stone or silver.

In the pre-Qin period, with the emergence of copper, people made bronze vessels and minted copper coins.

Before Qin Shihuang unified the currency, the shapes of coins in various countries were different, including knife coins, round square hole coins, shovel coins, etc.

After the Qin Dynasty unified the Central Plains, Qin's sword coins became universal coins.

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the court concentrated on coining money, and the five-baht coin in circulation was at that time.

However, before the Tang Dynasty, the nature and weight of currency were not unified. The Kaiyuan Tongbao invented by the Tang Dynasty was a copper coin with unified weight by the imperial court.

During the Yuan Dynasty, people used silver as currency. When Kublai Khan, the founding emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, was in power, he vigorously promoted the use of silver ingots.

Why is it said that silver in ancient times was always black?

Due to the composition of silver itself, when exposed to the air or in contact with people, it is easy to oxidize and turn black, resulting in the black silver we see later.

In fact, even in later generations, silver jewelry still has this problem. It will change color after being exposed for a long time.

In ancient times, silver-making technology was underdeveloped, the silver was not refined, and the methods for making silver were not standardized. Silver came in all shapes, and for the convenience of circulation, silver was often cut into small pieces for daily consumption.

There are very few large silver ingots in life, and it is not convenient to make change when taking them out.

These fine pieces of silver were constantly oxidized and worn through repeated circulation in the market, and gradually turned into a black stone.

The scene of the ancients taking a bite of silver as seen in later movies and TV shows is not a lie, because silver is soft and oxidized to a very black color.

Therefore, in order to distinguish the authenticity from the fake, the simplest way for the ancients was to take a bite and leave teeth marks, indicating that it was indeed silver and not a stone.

Over time, various pits and pits were left on the surface of the silver, which was both dirty and ugly.

Even if Wei Guangde carries a lot of broken silver in his pocket, this is actually the case. He believed that Zhang Juzheng should have the same "stone" on his body.

Not to mention having servants with you, you don't have to bring your own money.

Neither Wei Guangde nor Zhang Juzheng was born rich. They both worked hard to reach their current position through their own efforts. The habit of carrying money with them is not easy to lose.

In fact, there is also good-looking silver, that is, official silver. The silver sent to the capital from the local government is the processed "snowflake silver".

The manufacturing process of official silver is high, the refining purity is also high, and it is produced with a unified mold, so the appearance is indeed beautiful, as bright as "snowflakes".

If this silver is polished again, it will be exclusive to the royal family and will not easily flow into the public.

The color of silver is related to its purity. The higher the purity, the higher the brightness and the whiter the color.

The silver coins that Wei Guangde showed to Zhang Juzheng were highly purified, and although they were somewhat dark in color, compared to the silver coins circulating in the Ming Dynasty, they were indeed much more attractive to drink.

Sure enough, after Zhang Juzheng was reminded by Wei Guangde, he reached out and took out his money bag and took out a few pieces of broken silver.

In one hand was the broken silver currently circulating in the Ming Dynasty, and in the other hand was the Spanish silver dollar. Then he nodded slightly and said: "If it is put among the people, everyone should also like to use this."

"Yes, there should be no serious problems with private circulation. The main thing is the local government. It can be pushed forward with strong pressure. But first, we must settle the matter and let the Ministry of Industry come up with a money-making plan as soon as possible to convert the silver taels in the ever-increasing treasury into Silver treasures circulated.

In addition to small coins, standards must be set for large coins, as well as silver treasures. To make a one-money silver treasure the size of an ordinary coin, one or two silver treasures must also be made.

In this way, there is no need to use scissors to cut silver in market transactions. "

Wei Guangde said.

"Since the matter is serious, I think we should go to He Qing's place tonight to settle the matter.

Tomorrow's major event for the court is to reward Liaodong's meritorious soldiers, so it cannot be delayed. "

According to usual practice, the matter will be discussed secretly in the cabinet tomorrow, and after it is settled, a memorial will be written and submitted to the palace.

Once the palace approves it, it will be implemented in conjunction with the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry.

Of course, the money from Chang Yingku cannot be bypassed by the Ministry of War. After all, the Ministry of War is in charge of Taipu Temple and Chang Yingku.

Seeing Wei Guangde nodding, Zhang Juzheng said to Liu Shouyou on the side: "Shouyou, this matter is of great importance and must not be leaked."

"Yes."

Liu Shouyou hurriedly stood up and clasped his fists and said.

"Jinyiwei must make preparations for this matter, and there must be no mistakes in collecting gold."

Wei Guangde added, "Find out the situation of gold and silver shops in various places as soon as possible. Once confirmed, exchange it as soon as possible."

"Yes."

Liu Shouyou turned around again, cupped his fists and said to Wei Guangde.

"You Qi."

Zhang Juzheng shouted to the door.

"master."

You Qi came in at the door and bowed in front of Zhang Juzheng to obey orders.

"Go quickly to deliver the message and prepare the sedan chair. I'm going to Prime Minister Lu's house."

Zhang Juzheng ordered.

"Sir, it's getting very late."

When You Qi heard that Zhang Juzheng was going out so late, he couldn't help but say something.

However, Zhang Juzheng ignored him and started chatting with Wei Guangde again.

Seeing this, You Qi had no choice but to go out and make arrangements.

Not long after, a long line of cars and sedans came out of Zhang's house, heading all the way to Shiyongfang.

Soon, they arrived at the gate of Nanxunfang, but at this time, the gate of Fangshi had already been closed, and was guarded by 50% of the troops and horses on night patrol.

"Who are you? No one is allowed to pass during the night."

The gatekeepers looked at the lanterns coming from a distance and shouted loudly.

There was no need for Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde in the car behind to speak. Liu Shouyou had already ridden over and threw his badge at the other party.

The night-duty officer on the opposite side felt something unusual when he took it. What he came into contact with the most was actually the wooden or copper waist badges used by middle- and lower-level officials, which were either light or heavy.

But the one I have in my hand today has a obviously different material.

When I took it in front of me and looked at the pattern carefully, I immediately recognized that it was an ivory waist badge. Then I looked at the pattern on it.

A circle of patterns surrounds the engraving of seven characters, "Jin Yiwei Commander, Liu".

"Commander Liu"

The team officer stammered something, but was interrupted by Liu Shouyou as soon as he spoke.

"Be quick and open the door quickly."

Liu Shouyou said angrily to the soldiers.

"Yes Yes."

He hurriedly agreed, and the team officer immediately turned around and ordered his subordinates behind him: "Open the door, open the door quickly."

After giving the instructions, he immediately held the waist badge in both hands and sent it to Liu Shouyou.

Liu Shouyou reached out to take it and hung it around his waist again.

At this time, the gate of the market town had been opened, so he called on the carriage behind to continue moving forward.

When the sedan passed the door, the team officer kept laughing, but when he saw the words on the lanterns hanging on the front and rear of the sedan behind him, he was shocked again.

On the four corners of the lantern, some were written with the words "Grand Master of a certain palace", "Shang Shu" of a certain ministry, and "Zhang Mansion" and "Wei Mansion". Even the fool knew who he had just stopped.

In Nanxunfang, these two giant Buddhas live.

Seeing them walking out of the west gate towards the palace, the team officer's first thought was that something big had happened. The commander of the Jin Yiwei ordered them to clear the way. Going to the palace so late, something big must have happened.

After everyone left, the team officer panicked and asked his men to take care of the gate of Fangshi.

"Please be alert, don't take a nap, and be careful tonight."

After saying this, the captain had already placed his right hand on the hilt of the knife behind him.

Wei Guangde took a car to Zhang Juzheng's residence, and then the two of them left the mansion and left Nanxunfang. The news soon spread to every household in the city.

Those who can live here are naturally not ordinary people, but high-ranking officials in the imperial court.

Although they didn't know what happened, they were all alert.

If they knew that it was Liu Shouyou, the commander of Jinyiwei, who was leading the way for them, they might also have the same idea as the soldier and horseman.

But to the west of Nanxunfang, it not only leads to the palace, but also to the small Yongfang.

(End of this chapter)