Chapter 189 The Dilemma of Money Law
Su Ze picked up his pen and started to reply to Fang Ruolan.
"At the beginning of this dynasty, the banknote law was implemented, using treasure banknotes as currency, and copper coins were mostly banned. Later, the banknote law collapsed, and the court had to use the money law as a last resort. However, the money law has been blocked in many places. For example, we in Fujian still use Song coins."
Su Ze also wrote: "Although the imperial court does not practice the banking law, the warehouse has collected silver as tribute, and merchants also use silver for settlement, so the current Ming Dynasty is a situation where money and money are parallel." What Su Ze said in these two sentences is what is happening in Fujian today
. Currency usage status.
Ordinary people use copper coins for daily expenses, and they are copper coins from the Song Dynasty.
Rich people and businessmen generally use silver, and tea tributes also use silver. Although the official does not recognize the currency status of silver, both the private sector and the government basically acquiesce in the status of silver as currency.
As for gold, in the Ming Dynasty, it was basically regarded as a luxury product like gemstones and jewelry, and would not be used as currency at all in normal transactions.
As for treasure notes, a lot of them were issued indiscriminately during the reign of Emperor Hongwu. They were used as military pay for military households and as salary for the court. Anyway, they were issued wherever there was insufficient, and became the "financial magic" of Hongwu's reign.
In the early Ming Dynasty, the world had just been peaceful, the population was still growing, and economic circulation was not frequent, which at least maintained the slow depreciation of treasure notes.
It's a pity that when the Yongle Emperor arrived, he had to build the Forbidden City in Beijing, edit the Yongle Grand Ceremony, and go to Nanyang to clear the grasslands. Anyway, the court had more places to spend money, so the financial magic of Baobao was not easy to use.
Starting from the Yongle year, treasure notes depreciated like waste paper. Although there were recurrences later, by the Jiajing year, even the imperial court no longer used them.
In the financial statements reported by local governments, part of the treasure banknotes that were previously handed over were also converted into copper coins and turned over.
Money and banks are parallel, which means that the Ming Dynasty now has two currencies: copper coins and silver. This is the currency structure of the Ming Dynasty today.
Su Ze continued to write: "Private coinage is common in various places. If the court mints good money, the private sector will collect the good money and mint bad coins. Every time money is minted, there will be more bad coins on the market, and the price of money will plummet."
" Since I came to the throne, the imperial court has minted money three times. Each time after minting money, the price of money fell sharply. When the price of money fell, the tax collected by the court was less. Therefore, starting from the 16th year of this dynasty, tribute was changed to Stop folding money and start folding silver."
"After the government minted money, in order not to lose money, they began to mint big money, and exchanged big money for silver on the market. This led to more money and less silver, and the price of silver became higher. The higher the price, the lower the price."
Su Ze put down his pen, this was the main reason why the money law was unreasonable during the Jiajing years.
With two parallel currencies, maintaining a stable exchange rate is the biggest problem.
In order not to lose money when minting money, the government began to mint large-denomination money, and then used the money to forcibly exchange it for silver on the market according to the official rate.
When the government minted large amounts of money, the private sector naturally began to mint large amounts of counterfeit money. As a result, the copper content of copper coins became lower and lower.
Copper coins are becoming more and more depreciated, and silver is becoming more and more valuable.
The imperial court minted more copper coins, but the copper coins depreciated even more.
People are not fools. Your copper coins are depreciating year by year, and your silver is increasing in value year by year.
Then your government asked us to use copper coins, but refused us to use silver, and you were collecting money yourself.
As a result, fewer and fewer people are willing to trade with copper coins, and money laws become even more unreasonable.
There were many reasons for the money law problems in the Ming Dynasty. The prevalence of private coining was naturally a problem. However, the court did not crack down on private coining. Instead, it began to compete with private coining. It also began to issue copper coins with worse quality and larger denominations, and used the coinage to plunder the people. of wealth.
To put it bluntly, the intention of the money dredging law is naturally good, and it is to solve the problem of insufficient circulating currency.
This is a currency issue, but when the court solves this problem, it only wants to make money from it, and this snowball can only get bigger and bigger.
In the hands of Chongzhen, all his blessings were enjoyed by his ancestors, and Qian Fa could only completely collapse.
The imperial court wanted to mint money in Fujian, and Su Ze began to think about whether he could get any benefits from this coinage.
Private casting? Su Ze naturally disdained this kind of thing. A major devaluation plundered the wealth of ordinary people, but the real upper class would not suffer from the depreciation of copper coins, but would benefit from it.
For example, the Fang family heard the news early and exchanged the copper coins into silver in advance. When the court began to mint coins and the price of copper coins fell, the silver in their hands became more valuable.
Like the Fang family, everything is considered good. Some big families will simply go out and collect the good money with high copper content and recast it into bad coins with low copper content, disrupting the order of the money market. However, the Ming Dynasty government only responded to this. Turn a blind eye.
Su Ze couldn't help but sigh, the Ming Dynasty's troubles really happened one after another.
Su Ze picked up the pen and added another sentence to the letter to Lin Mojun, trying to use the copper coins in his hand to exchange for silver.
Just as Su Ze finished writing his reply, Wang Daokun was also writing to his friend Zhang Juzheng, who was in the same department.
Zhang Juzheng passed the Jinshi examination in the 26th year of Jiajing. He was 23 years old at the time. He ranked ninth in the second class and was awarded the title of Shujishi.
Wang Daokun was also a Jinshi in the same year and also entered the Hanlin Academy. They were in the same department and were in the same academy. This was a very close relationship.
Wang Daokun was a Jinshi at the age of twenty-seven, and he and Zhang Juzheng were both young and successful. They had a good relationship and often exchanged letters.
Last year, Zhang Juzheng took leave of absence from the capital and came to his hometown Jiangling. However, he often wrote letters to discuss the situation in the court with his friends.
Wang Daokun bought another copy of "Guanwen Guanzhi" and sent this book and his private letter to Zhang Juzheng.
In the letters between Zhang Juzheng and Wang Daokun, they mostly praised Wang Anshi's reform. Wang Daokun originally supported the imperial reform like him.
But after reading Su Ze's comments, Wang Daokun had a different idea.
As long as the current situation in the court does not change, even if the new law is implemented, it will only exploit the people even more.
Wang Daokun wrote in the letter: "If the new law is implemented, the administration of officials should come first. If the administration of officials is not clear and the people who use them have selfish motives but no public intentions, then the new law will have temporary benefits but long-lasting disadvantages." After closing the letter, Wang Daokun sighed again, "Official administration
" It is easy to talk about governing officials, but it is really difficult to clean it up.
When he thought of the situation in the capital, Wang Daokun became even more desperate for the future of the Ming Dynasty.
He looked at the letters on the table again. Since he became the inspector of schools in Fujian, these were all letters of request.
I casually opened a letter from Zhang Sijing, the official of Yanping Prefecture?
Wang Daokun had some contacts with Zhang Sijing. I heard that he was expelled from the court for persuading the emperor to establish a prince to consolidate the country's foundation. Wang Daokun still had a good impression of him.
So I opened Zhang Sijing's letter and threw it on the table after just reading a few sentences.
Zhang Sijing is nothing more than a clown, someone who sells his reputation and sells his integrity!
In addition to recommending a Yanping Academy scholar named Huang Shixing, Zhang Sijing spent most of the letter attacking Su Ze and Magistrate Fang, saying that it was Fang Wanghai's operation of relationships that allowed Su Ze to win the Little Three Yuan.
But the entire letter was filled with Zhang Sijing's conjectures and so-called rumors, with no evidence at all.
Wang Daokun had read Su Ze's boy examination papers. In the three examinations, it can be said that the eight-legged writing was very exciting, and the policy theory was even more outstanding.
Even if Fang Wanghai is operating, how can he let Fujian Academic Affairs also point to Su Ze's case?
Moreover, Fang Wanghai only got married to Su Ze after the boy test was over. It was indeed Su Ze who was so talented that Fang Wanghai could ignore the criticism!
Wang Daokun just lamented Fang Wanghai's good luck. With such a son-in-law, the future of the three generations of the Fang family was secure.
Wang Daokun thought for a while and wrote the money pass method written by Su Ze in the boy's trial strategy in the letter to Zhang Juzheng. After sealing the envelope, he asked the boy to send it to the express delivery shop and send it to Jiangling.
The fifth day of May is the Dragon Boat Festival.
Su Ze invited his classmates to climb up Jiufeng Mountain outside the city. He only saw the entire Jiufeng Mountain filled with incense. Su Ze was also startled by the prosperous smell of incense.
Chen Chaoyuan also climbed up with his wife and children. He said to Su Ze: "There are many Buddhist temples on Jiufeng Mountain, including five Lanruo ones. They are all places where incense is prosperous. Among them, the most popular place is Leiguang Pavilion on the top of Jiufeng Mountain.
" Large temples can be called Lanruo. In fact, Jiufeng Mountain is not very high, but there are so many temples packed in it. "What is the origin of this Lei Guang Pavilion?"
Chen Chaoyuan said: "This is a story from the Song Dynasty. It is said that a bolt of lightning once struck a bamboo in the Lei Guang Pavilion. The bamboo was split in half, but two bamboos survived. People thought it was strange, so they built the Thunder Light Pavilion to worship the God of Thunder."
Su Ze also found it interesting, so he climbed to the top with everyone.
Just seeing the two bamboos growing together in Leiguang Pavilion, Su Ze pointed at it and said: "How can the bamboos in the Song Dynasty survive to this day and not wither? It seems that the legend of Leiguang Pavilion is just a rumor."
"It's normal for these bamboos to grow side by side. You just need to move the bamboo shoots on the bamboo veins together."
After Su Ze said this, the Taoist priests in Leiguang Pavilion glared at him, but when they saw Su Ze and this group of scholars, they did not dare to offend him. , could only glare at them going down the mountain.
Su Ze had just returned to his residence when eunuch Xiaoyou from the mine came to his door.
"Eunuch Xiao You, what's the matter with the mine supervisor?"
Eunuch Hu and Eunuch Xiao You, the two house eunuchs, usually do not enter Nanping City.
Now their laboratory has received great support from Su Ze. Su Ze hired a cook for them in Nanping City. They only need to give orders for daily purchases, and they never leave the door without leaving the door.
Young Eunuch You said in a tired voice: "My godfather asked me to invite Mr. Su over. Someone from the palace is here. We have something important to discuss."
Someone from the palace?
"But what about the mine?"
Su Ze's first thought was that the emperor was going to abolish the mine?
The silver mine in Nanping has always had underground output, and the inputs can barely maintain the output. The court officials also took out Eunuch Hu to whip his corpse out from time to time.
Su Ze was naturally worried that if the court removed the mine supervisor, then Eunuch Hu would return to the palace.
Little Eunuch You shook his head and said, "It's not about the mine, Mr. Su. Let's leave first."
Su Ze asked for leave from Hai Rui and followed Little Eunuch You out of the city. Only then did he know what was going on.
It turned out to be a matter of minting money.
Su Ze never expected that the issue of imperial coin minting would be related to him.
Young Eunuch You said: "Tao Daxuan, who was sent by the imperial court to mint coins in Fujian this time, was my godfather's old friend in the palace. He came to visit my godfather in the mine and talked about the difficulties of minting coins. My godfather mentioned that Mr. Su always has a way. Tao Da I just want to meet Mr. Su."
It turns out that this is what happened.
The emperor naturally did not trust officials when it came to minting money, so he sent eunuchs from the palace to take care of it.
And this eunuch Tao was sent by the palace to preside over the minting of coins. The person who could take on this job was naturally a powerful eunuch in the palace.
Dajuan is the name given to a powerful eunuch.
"What kind of person is this Tao Dajuan?" Su Ze asked while riding a horse.
"I once heard my godfather say that this man who worked for Tao Dajuan was experienced, but it was a pity that he had never read a book. He joined Eunuch Li a few years ago, and then he became famous." "Eunuch Li? Is it Li Fang?
"
Eunuch Xiaoyou looked at Su Ze in confusion. How could he, a scholar who had never been to the capital, know so much about Dajue in the palace?
No wonder his godfather said that Su Ze was a great scholar.
"It's Lord Li Fang."
Li Fang had a good reputation among eunuchs, and he was also a figure in the biographies of Ming history.
However, the most powerful eunuch in the palace now is Huang Jin, and Li Fang is the chief eunuch who took over as the chief eunuch after Huang Jin retired.
Although Li Fang was an eunuch, he also impeached many corrupt officials and treacherous ministers, and also advised Emperor Longqing to be frugal and healthy. This angered the emperor and was demoted, and was finally sent to Nanjing to serve as the Jingjun (eunuch guarding the mausoleum army).
Although Li Fang has not yet become powerful, she is also a well-known eunuch in the palace. Soon Eunuch You no longer finds it strange.
He continued: "Tao Daxuan came to mint coins this time, but he searched the copper mountains in Fujian and found that there was not enough copper in the warehouse. He could not complete the number of coins according to the palace's requirements. This would probably offend His Majesty."
Su Ze understood now that Tao Dajuan was probably being tricked by the palace just like Eunuch Hu.
I thought that coming to Fujian to mint coins was a good job, but I didn't expect that Fujian's copper mine reserves were not enough to mint coins.
"In that case, why don't you submit a title to the palace? All father-in-laws who go to Beijing on business are qualified to go to the secret service, right?"
Eunuch Xiaoyou said bitterly: "This job was something that Tao Dajuan had to ask for with great difficulty, and His Majesty How could the Holy Saint pay attention to such trivial matters? Even if he complains about being exposed, he will only be said to have failed in doing things and be reprimanded." Su Ze immediately understood that this was Emperor
Jiajing's " "The art of controlling subordinates", the emperor puts forward a goal, and it is left to the subordinates to do it anyway.
As for whether this goal can be achieved, Emperor Jiajing will naturally not "worry" about these details.
If it is done well, it will naturally be the leadership of Emperor Jiajing that deserves credit.
If it is not done well, it means that the people below are not doing it well.
If it arouses public anger, then just kill the people working below.
Emperor Jiajing was the hands-off shopkeeper and would not help solve any problems below.
As long as you are not involved in specific matters, you will always be the most holy and wise, and you will never make mistakes.
It's no wonder that Tao Dajuan came to Hu Gonggong's door to ask for help. It's hard for such a clever woman to make a meal without rice!
ps1: Regarding the evaluation of Zhuge Liang and Wang Anshi in Chapter 186, it comes from "Reading Tongjian Lun" written by Wang Fuzhi in the late Ming Dynasty. Wang Fuzhi also made a sharp comment on another reformer, so I will post it.
"Du Tongjian Lun": "Shen and Shang have the skills of working hard and relaxing for a long time. Those who use their skills without the intention are Kong Ming; those who use the truth and conceal their names are Jiefu (Wang Anshi); Zhang Ju He is the one who takes advantage of power!"
Mr. Zhang's reputation was notorious in the late Ming Dynasty. Naturally, some of Wang Fuzhi's personal attacks were involved, and his words could not be fully accepted.
This one has two stories.
First, this question is from the last imperial examination in the late Qing Dynasty. Let’s see how many points you can get.
Second, Liu Heping, the author of Ming Dynasty 1566, originally created Ming Dynasty and planned to publish a sequel. The sequel will have Zhang Juzheng as the protagonist, so Zhang Juzheng has a lot of roles in Ming Dynasty.
However, during the creation process, Liu Heping read this paragraph and combined it with other historical materials, changed his view on Zhang Juzheng's reforms, and decided not to write a sequel to the Ming Dynasty.
There is a video interview, anyone who is interested can watch it.
Zhang Juzheng’s reform is also a restricted area that cannot be touched by online articles. Let’s analyze it yourself.
PS2:
The most powerful eunuch in the Jiajing Dynasty was Huang Jin. Lu Fang in the Ming Dynasty TV series was written by Liu Heping. The original character should be this Li Fang. However, Li Fang gained power during the Long Qing Dynasty.
ps3: Apologize to a reader. The Guangxi wolf soldiers sacrificed a lot in modern struggles. This is recorded in Ming history. Fat Bird is definitely not a narrow-minded nationalist.
(End of chapter)