Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 581 Increase revenue and reduce expenditure

July, Zichen Palace.

After more than a month of discussion among the Imperial Household Department, the Accounting Department, and the Secretariat, a new method for minting coins was proposed, and all the officials then went to see Zhang Yu.

"His Majesty!"

Zhang presented the new coins and said, “As Your Majesty wishes, I will discuss the new coinage law with you all. After verification by the Accounting Department, we will add white tin to the casting to make the coins heavier. We will use these larger coins to purchase smaller coins (five-zhu coins) and strictly enforce the law. This should gradually eliminate the practice of private minting.”

Zhang Yu carefully examined the several large coins in his hand. He noticed that compared to the copper coins from a month ago, the coins were now larger and heavier. Clearly, with the help of the Accounting Department, the Imperial Household Department had found a solution to purchase copper and exchange coins without allowing the private minting of coins to flourish.

“Although this can curb the practice of private minting, the quality of Wuzhu coins is inconsistent. If we use Dong Zhuo’s small coins as a benchmark, and I exchange large coins for small coins, one coin will be worth two coins. Wouldn’t the court suffer a loss?” Zhang Yu asked.

In times of chaos, the monetary system is the first to collapse, especially when faced with a warlord like Dong Zhuo who used lighter and smaller Wuzhu coins as currency, which was tantamount to plunder. When bad money drives out good, it eventually leads to severe inflation. If the situation is chaotic and war breaks out everywhere, then currency will become completely worthless.

"Weigh it!"

Yu Yi said, “There are too many five-zhu coins. We should weigh them to collect new coins. The government should use silk to buy five-zhu coins, and then melt them down to make large coins. Large coins and small coins will circulate in the same currency, with one coin equaling two coins. The two-coin small coin is slightly heavier than the large coin by one zhu. This is called fire loss coin, which is used to cover the expenses of minting coins.”

Zhong Yao pondered for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, the large coins weigh almost twice as much as the small coins. It would be better to mix more white tin to accumulate copper. The manpower required for casting coins is very large. If it is not managed properly, wouldn’t it lead to losses in casting coins?”

Zhang Yu shook his head and said, "Money is something that circulates throughout the world. I named it Tongbao so that people could use it to travel to all corners of the world. If we are concerned with profits and enrich the imperial treasury, it will only encourage the private minting of coins."

Promoting the use of Tang coins was something Zhang Yu had to do in recent years. To avoid failure in promoting the coinage, Zhang Yu didn't even plan to profit from minting Wuzhu coins. After all, without substantial profits, the trend of privately exchanging and minting coins could be curbed.

As for the copper melting and minting of coins, the imperial court would certainly make a profit, but the profit margin was not large. In order to curb private minting, Zhang Yu ordered the accounting department to verify the costs. According to the cost accounting, a certain quantity needed to be minted in order to make a profit.

In terms of fiscal revenue, Zhang Yu's fiscal preference was to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. However, in the matter of minting coins, Zhang Yu did not intend to let the court profit, which shows how much he cared about it.

As for why he cares so much?

It all boils down to the credibility of a regime. As the Wuzhu coin circulated throughout the land, its influence gradually seeped into people's hearts. With people using this coin in circulation, it slowly gained everyone's acceptance of the Han Empire. But with the collapse of the Wuzhu coin, the value of the currency in people's hands vanished. Would they still care about the Han Empire then?

Therefore, in Zhang Yu's view, the replacement of the Han Wuzhu coin with the Tang Tongbao coin represented a shift in economic consciousness. When citizens used the Tongbao for transactions, it was essentially a way of gradually accepting the Tang regime. This ideological infiltration was more effective than any proclamation against a traitor.

Seeing that Zhang Yu had no objection, Zhang continued, "According to my plan, the Imperial Household Department will set up a minting commissioner and establish a minting bureau in Guanzhong. This year, we will first mint Tongbao coins to circulate in the market."

Zhang Yu interrupted, saying, "Coins will be minted starting in July. Each month, the new coins, mixed with grain and silk, will be used as salaries, initially for civil and military officials. Starting next year, official salaries will be paid in large coins, while the fiefs and stipends for noble titles will still be paid in grain. Only when the government uses new coins will the common people be convinced."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked at Zhong Yao and said, "As the prime minister, you are in charge of all officials. If any officials have complaints, you should appease them."

"promise!"

Zhong Yao responded and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty has ordered the relocation of the Cong people to the north. I consulted the Grand Master of Ceremonies and sought advice from the people of Shu. They said that the Cong people live in the valleys and around the Yu River. Their population extends from the Han River in the north to the Yangtze River in the south, and their numbers are countless."

"If Your Majesty wishes to relocate the Cong people to the border, you should send the Cong chieftain Guiba to persuade them, and appoint a skilled administrator to manage the people. This should allow you to relocate tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of people."

"Do you have any candidates for the relocation of people?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Your Majesty, Imperial Censor Du Xike may be appointed as the Relocation Commissioner!"

Zhong Yao said, "Du Xi is gentle and intelligent, and has been diligent and courageous in offering advice since he came to our court from the south. He is a virtuous man of the nation. If we use Du Xi to relocate people from the south, the matter will surely be successful!"

Du Xi joined Zhang Yu relatively early, roughly after Zhang Yu pacified Hebei. He first served in the General's office and later became the magistrate of Shang County. At that time, Zhang Yu had a conversation with Du Xi when he returned to Chang'an from Xiangyang.

After governing Shang County for over a year, Du Xi was promoted to Magistrate of Qisi County in Runan Prefecture for his outstanding achievements. During his tenure, he pacified the people of the county and also pacified the people of Huainan who had been plundered, making great contributions. Because the Du family had a long-standing relationship with Zhong Yao's clan, he was promoted to Imperial Censor under Zhong Yao's appreciation. Although relocating the Cong people was a difficult task, and failure could lead to the loss of his official position, it was also a rare opportunity to make a name for himself. Therefore, after careful consideration, Zhong Yao recommended Du Xi to Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu happened to have an impression of Du Xi in his mind, and said, "Since the Prime Minister has recommended Du Xi, then let him concurrently serve as the Relocation Commissioner to relocate the Cong people to populate Long County."

"promise!"

Zhang Yu suddenly had an idea and said, “The world has just been at peace, and the prefectures and counties are waiting to be developed. First, the former troops of various heroes were moved to Guanzhong, then the northern barbarians were moved to the Hehuang region, and now the Cong people are moving to Long County. Moreover, the southern land is fertile but sparsely populated; the Hexi Corridor is empty and uncultivated. Therefore, the migration of people will be frequent in the future. The Ministry of Personnel and the Northern Court should jointly establish a Relocation Office, with the Relocation Officer receiving a salary of 1,000 shi, to be in charge of the migration of Han and Yi peoples.”

Although the total population of the country is not large, it does not mean that there will be no migration. On the contrary, according to Zhang Yu's plan, there will probably be a lot of migration. For example, Zhang Yu has a plan that when the army marches down to the southeast, he will relocate the Yue people from the mountains to the Central Plains, weakening their power and consolidating the population of Yan and Yu provinces.

Including the Nanzhong region, once the Nanzhong prefectures and counties are somewhat pacified, Zhang Yu plans to relocate the Nanman (southern barbarians) to the Lianghuai River basin. Alternatively, after pacifying the Liaodong region, Zhang Yu plans to take the opportunity to destroy the Three Han states, and then relocate the farming people of the Three Han states to Youzhou, making the vacated river basins along the Three Han states easier for Han people to cultivate.

All of these migration plans were essentially designed to facilitate the expansion of the Han people in all directions as the population grew. The purpose of relocating barbarians to the Central Plains was simply to increase the population and assimilate the marginal barbarians into Han culture.

For example, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, 200,000 Yue people were relocated to Huainan. Although this occasionally caused some unrest, the Yue people gradually became Sinicized over time. Now, if we relocate barbarians who know how to farm to the Central Plains, after several generations they will become familiar with Han customs and will inevitably be regarded as Han people.

"Should we appoint Du Xi as the supervisor of the relocation of people?" Zhong Yao asked.

Zhang Yu understood Zhong Yao's meaning and said with a smile, "Let's leave this position vacant for now and see how well Du Xiqian of the Cong people performs."

"promise!"

After arranging the relocation of the people, Zhang Yu looked at Yu Yi and asked, "You went south to Sichuan to investigate the official brocade production and management. What strategies did you devise for the official brocade production and management?"

"Your Majesty!"

Yu Yi said, “I led the officials to the south to inspect and discussed many plans. Among them, the official production method of Zhuge Liang is the best. Zhuge Liang said that it takes sixty days to make a bolt of Shu brocade, and the price of a bolt is one string of cash. It is loved by the rich. At present, the production of Shu brocade is nothing more than large households hiring workers to weave and weave, and paying the women and children a monthly wage.”

"The state should maintain a government-run brocade business in Shu. We could build a city south of Chengdu, prohibiting wealthy families from weaving brocade privately, and instead recruit women and children to weave within the city. Once the Shu brocade is completed, wealthy families could be encouraged to purchase it so that they could sell it throughout the country. This is a strategy proposed by Zhuge Liang."

"The two strategies offered by Zhuge Liang were similar to the state-run salt system, where the people spun and wove Shu brocade, which was then purchased by the government and sold throughout the country. The two strategies differed in their approaches and actions. The former aimed to produce high-quality Shu brocade, while the latter aimed to sell it at a lower price."

"Which of these two strategies do you think should be implemented?" Zhang Yu asked.

Yu Yi pondered for a moment and said, "The former method of recruiting workers to weave brocade, I fear that if the government monopolizes it for a long time, the quality of Shu brocade will be inferior; the latter method of selling Shu brocade, I fear that officials will buy inferior Shu brocade, which will eventually lead to losses for the Shu Brocade Bureau. In weighing the pros and cons, I believe that if the former method is strictly enforced, the country will not be at risk of loss!"

"Let's do as you say for now!"

Zhang Yu said, "The official brocade business in Shu is overseen by officials from the prefectures and counties, which may help prevent losses and corruption. Besides Shu brocade, what about the official salt wells in Shu?"

“Salt production in Sichuan is not abundant. Boiling one bushel of water with a well fire yields four or five bushels of salt; boiling it with a household fire yields only two or three bushels!” Yu Yi said. “In the Central Plains, it cannot compare with the salt produced in the Hedong Salt Lake. However, Sichuan has the advantage of being isolated, making it difficult for salt from other provinces to enter. Therefore, if the state were to run a salt well operation in Sichuan, the country would surely profit!”

Compared to the well salt in Sichuan, which requires burning to crystallize, the salt ponds in Hedong do not require burning; sun drying is sufficient. Each plot (about 100 mu) can produce 300-400 shi of salt per season. Except for winter when salt cannot be dried, salt can be produced twice a year, so each plot can produce about 600-800 shi of salt.

The output of the two cannot be compared. Therefore, when sea salt did not develop significantly, the output of Hedong salt accounted for 70% of the salt production in the Han Dynasty.

"Then we shall do as you say and establish government-run enterprises for Shu brocade and well salt in Sichuan!"

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)