I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 269: The right to mint coins (please subscribe)
The financial problems of the Ming Dynasty were huge.

In addition to the fact that there was no unified specialized financial institution in charge of finance, the imperial court's financial strength was very weak.

There are also a large number of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes printed as a means of circulation.However, due to large-scale printing, the purchasing power of treasure banknotes has plummeted, which is equivalent to waste paper and many other problems.

But in Zhu Youxiao's view, none of these problems is as serious as the other!
That is, the Ming Dynasty, as a unified and mature centralized dynasty, could not control currency circulation. In layman's terms, it had no right to mint coins.

Without the right to mint coins, the court had no control over the circulation of currency. A large amount of wealth was concentrated among the people and even in the Jiangnan area, and could not flow back. The court could only rely on finance and taxation to maintain the government's expenditure. This situation was truly unprecedented.

Although Zhu Youxiao, who came from time travel, does not have in-depth knowledge of economics, he also knows the hard truth that the government must control the right to mint currency.

Therefore, he has always been concerned about coinage and wanted to uniformly issue and print copper coins and silver coins to control the currency supply.

Doing so can not only obtain seigniorage income and seigniorage, but also regain people's confidence in the court, and even make sufficient preparations for reforming banknotes, establishing banks, etc. in the future.

Therefore, this first step must be done well, otherwise it will cause a domino effect, with one wrong step and the next wrong.That's why Xu Guangqi was specifically asked to organize the Baoquan Bureau and prepare for the casting of copper coins as soon as possible.

He didn't expect that casting copper coins would be so difficult. The output of copper in the Ming Dynasty was so low. It was a pity that he didn't remember any large copper mines in his previous life. Otherwise, it would have been better to just dig according to his memory.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but envy his little neighbor Japan, which has such a high output of gold, silver and copper.Buy it now, and be sure to "borrow" it later.
-
"Come and see, the imperial court has issued an order to abolish the craftsmanship and debasement status!"

"Your Majesty personally issued an edict that from now on, the lowly registration will be abolished and the people will be organized into households, which will be the same as usual."

"In the future, craftsmen no longer need to serve for free. If they do, the court will have to spend money to hire them."

"His Majesty has issued an edict that both industry and commerce are fundamental. He requires the cabinet to discuss regulations with the six ministries. The government is not allowed to misappropriate items for free at will, nor is it allowed to default on payment to merchants at will."

·······
With the conclusion of the Dongnuang Pavilion edict, Liu Yishen and others quickly released the news, quickly causing an uproar in the court.

This time, Yan Guan no longer criticized the emperor as mindlessly as usual. Instead, he wrote an uncharacteristic letter saying that the emperor's abolition of humble status was a great charity that benefited the country and the people. Zhu Youxiao was happy for a while after seeing this, and felt very happy in his heart. After muttering, these sour scholars finally got to know each other for a while.

Liu Yishen also did such a good thing very quickly. He directly drafted an edict with Ye Xianggao and others, and asked the Chief of Ceremonies to approve it. Then he quickly issued it to the General Affairs Department and announced it to the world.

Huang Dong's "Da Ming Daily" had first-hand information in advance. When the General Affairs Department issued the document, newsboys all over Beijing were already shouting and selling, causing the matter to explode quickly in Beijing.

At Tongfu Restaurant, Lu Xiangsheng, who was a freshman in high school, was leisurely drinking and talking with Zhang Guowei and others.

For those of them who have passed the Enke Examination, their mood is naturally one of triumph and self-satisfaction.

After passing the general examination, it means that the Jinshi is stable. The palace examination half a month later will not eliminate people, but just sort out the rankings.

"Brother Jiandou (Lu Xiangsheng's nickname), you are very likely to win the top prize in the palace examination in half a month's time this time. If you can get a glimpse of the holy face as a member of the Hanlin Academy, your future will be limitless."

At the wine table on the second floor, Zhou Shideng, a high school examination scholar, raised his head and raised his wine glass with a smile, and toasted to Lu Xiangsheng.He was originally from Wujin County, South Zhili, and because he knew Zhang Guowei, Zhang Guowei came over to drink with him.

Lu Xiangsheng, who was sitting at the head, waved his hands humbly when he heard this, raised his glass and said politely to Zhou Shideng: "Brother Bo Sheng (Zhou Shideng's nickname) is too polite. How to become a Jinshi depends on His Majesty's decision. We dare not speak nonsense. No." Dare to speak nonsense!"

Lu Xiangsheng was actually not very interested in Zhou Shiden. After he raised his glass and finished drinking with Zhou Shiden, he turned to look at a young man in his twenties on his left. He was not tall, but had a fair face and bright eyes.

"Brother Zhisheng (Mao Yuanyi's nickname), I just heard you say that the imperial court's Krupp artillery was brilliant in the Battle of Hunhe River. We are very interested, but I have a doubt in my heart. I wonder if you can help us clear it up. Ichiban?"

This young man is the famous Mao Yuanyi in history. He was a child prodigy since he was a child. He wrote "Military Bei Zhi" when he was more than [-] years old.

After being recognized by Zhang Guowei in the Gongyuan last time, Lu Xiangsheng, who also liked military affairs, became very interested in this person, so he took the initiative to communicate and get acquainted. The two were similar in age and experience, and they immediately hit it off and quickly became friends.

After the results of Enke's examination came out, both of them were high school graduates. After they had no worries, they often met and talked about government affairs. They had a lot of fun talking about everything.

"Brother Jiandou, just ask if you have any doubts. Tell me everything you know."

Upon hearing this, Mao Yuanyi put down the wine glass and looked at Lu Xiangsheng curiously.

"I heard that your Majesty is reforming the Beijing camp, and five of the six armies in the Beijing camp are mainly firearms, and one of them is mainly cavalry. Everyone knows the benefits of artillery and firearms, but they are also extremely susceptible to weather restrictions. If During the battle, it rains heavily and the firearms and artillery cannot be ignited due to moisture. What should we do?"

Mao Yuanyi nodded when she heard this. Lu Xiangsheng was right about the disadvantages. Firearms are indeed easily affected by the weather and become unstable.

"Brother Jiandou is right, but I think the imperial court is not without its own countermeasures. When I was working as a staff member under Lord Sun Chengzong, I heard that the Ordnance Bureau was developing a self-generating fire gun that relied on flint. Hitting the anvil creates sparks that ignite the fuse.

According to Mr. Sun, the ignition rate of this kind of fire gun in humid weather and strong winds is much better than that of a match rope.

I heard that Xu Shangshu invited his friend Bi Maokangbi, the former governor of Shaanxi Province, to come to Beijing to help with the development. A prototype gun is already being developed. However, I heard that the workmanship is fine and the mass production is small, so I am afraid that it will not be popularized by then. "

Hearing Mao Yuanyi's words, Lu Xiangsheng nodded slowly as if thinking, but this result obviously did not satisfy him. After all, it could not solve the problem of how to fight on rainy days.

Compared to Lu Xiangsheng, Zhang Guowei's way of thinking about problems was much simpler. Seeing that Lu Xiangsheng was still confused, he immediately patted him on the shoulder and said:

"Oh, don't worry. You can use swords to fight on rainy days. Besides, I heard that all gunmen will be equipped with a gun knife. You can just insert it into the barrel of the gun and use it directly. It is very convenient.

Why don't you wait until you get the first prize? You can ask His Majesty for a blunderbuss. Then play with it and see if there is anything you can do, hahaha..."

Everyone laughed when they heard this. Lu Xiangsheng didn't pay much attention to Zhang Guowei's joke. He just felt that having to fight on foot in rainy days was a major disadvantage of firearms. It seemed that future wars would still depend on God's face.

"Come and see, come and see, the imperial court has decreed that craftsman status be abolished and debased!"

Just as everyone was thinking, a cry of newspaper sales suddenly sounded from downstairs, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

　Please subscribe!Asking for a monthly ticket!Please comment!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)