The Ming Dynasty itself was short of copper, and there were not many silver mines. In addition, the current technology for mining ores is backward, and not much silver ore can be mined in a year. The amount of silver produced each year is actually limited.
However, the increase in grain and other agricultural products in the Ming Dynasty was extremely rapid. Thanks to Lao Zhu's policy of resting with the people and the three-year tax exemption for reclaiming wasteland, a large amount of wasteland is reclaimed every year and planted with food.
The increase in money is negligible, but the increase in food is rapid. As a result, food will naturally become cheaper and cheaper. In the last years of Hongwu, there was even a situation where one load of grain was worth three coins. As food becomes cheaper and cheaper, it is the common people who suffer, and it is the officials and wealthy businessmen who gain.
Because ordinary people will not save a large amount of money in their hands, and there are no conditions for saving a large amount of money. Only officials and wealthy businessmen will have a large amount of money in their hands. This situation is equivalent to the continuous appreciation of money, and those who benefit naturally are those who have a large amount of money in their hands.
Han Du persuaded Lao Zhu not to worry about increasing the value of the treasure.
Lao Zhu also knew that it was not advisable to increase the value of the treasure banknotes, so he nodded and said: "Just do as you say. Well, the day after tomorrow is the court meeting, so let's start with the salaries of the officials."
Money is the courage of heroes.
Lao Zhu felt that he had more confidence now that he had treasure money.
At the court meeting in Fengtian Palace, hundreds of officials stood in line.
Han Du was still wearing the eighth-grade official uniform as always, standing outside the hall with several officials of the same level. The weather is good today, the sun is shining brightly, it is a good day.
Lao Zhu saw that all the officials had reported everything that should be reported. In fact, the officials did not report any major issues, because all major issues were resolved by the hard-working Lao Zhu. Therefore, the officials had no choice but to bother Lao Zhu with trivial matters to express their dissatisfaction with Lao Zhu's abolition of Zhongshu Province.
Lao Zhu knew this very well. However, he refused to give in on the matter of abolishing the Zhongshu Province, and showed a tough attitude with all officials. The officials entrusted all government affairs to Lao Zhu, and Lao Zhu was happy to do so and worked diligently to handle the government affairs in an orderly manner. At the court meeting, the officials bothered Lao Zhu with trivial matters, and Lao Zhu also listened attentively with a serious face. People who didn't know about it couldn't tell that Lao Zhu was listening to trivial matters. Instead, they would think that he was discussing with the officials. National affairs.
Of course, Baiguan didn't dare to go too far. After all, they wanted to express their dissatisfaction with the emperor's abolition of Zhongshu Province, not to commit suicide in front of the emperor. Apart from anything else, the emperor's butcher knife is fast and bright, and all the officials have seen it before.
Therefore, the time has almost come. All the officials kept silent and signaled that the emperor could withdraw from the court.
However, today is a little different from the past. Lao Zhu did not directly announce his resignation. And he glanced around the officials and said with a smile: "Have all the dear ladies finished playing? Since all the dear ladies have nothing to do, I will announce two things."
It is not unheard of for the officials to encounter situations where the emperor continues to talk after he has finished speaking to the officials.
Therefore, when the emperor said this, the officials were not surprised and acted as if they were all ears.
"The first thing is that from now on, the salary of all officials will no longer be distributed separately in treasure notes, silver, and zhezi. All treasure notes will be distributed uniformly."
Lao Zhu's words caused a stir, causing everyone except the officials in the first few rows to look left and right and talk about it.
If Lao Zhu had promulgated this decree a few months ago, I am afraid that hundreds of officials would have opposed it. Now only mid-level officials are talking about it, which is already a very good phenomenon. After all, in the past, treasure banknotes depreciated in value. If we don't issue silver banknotes, wouldn't it mean that the salaries of officials are reduced in disguise? Now that the value of the treasure has returned to normal, the reaction of the officials did not become violent, it was just a discussion.
After Lao Zhu finished speaking, he also stopped, as if waiting for the officials' discussion to end.
"Your Majesty, I have doubts." A minister came out and asked.
"Say." Lao Zhu replied expressionlessly.
The minister was not afraid. He straightened up and looked at the emperor and said: "As far as I know, although a treasure banknote can be exchanged for a copper coin, in a month the money can only be exchanged for 900 copper coins. If In the future, I will be able to exchange for the same amount of money. I have no objection to the emperor's request that all the salaries of his generals and ministers be exchanged for treasure notes. But if the change goes back to the same amount in the future and I can only exchange for 900 yuan, what should I do? And what should I do? That is, although the treasure notes are light, they cannot be exposed to water, and even sweat will affect them. If you carry them with you, if they get wet with sweat, wouldn't it be..."
What the minister meant implicitly was that there were too many disadvantages and uncertainties in treasure banknotes, and he did not want all his salary to become treasure banknotes.
If Lao Zhu had listened to this minister in the past, he would have become angry. There was no way to solve the problem, so Lao Zhu had no choice but to use Long Yan's anger to cheat.
But now it doesn't have to be.
After listening to the minister's words, Lao Zhu not only looked calm, but also had a faint smile. The few ministers at the front looked at the emperor's expression and glanced at each other secretly. They didn't know what happened to the emperor today to make him do such an unusual thing.
Lao Zhu is really happy now, because Han Du has given him the most confidence to face these problems.
Even his voice sounded gentle, "My dear friends, don't worry. This is a newly made treasure banknote. It is completely different from the previous banknotes. Dear friends, you don't have to worry about the depreciation of the treasure banknotes, let alone I’m worried that the banknotes will blur and become rotten when exposed to water.”
After speaking, Lao Zhu waved his hand.
Soon, several groups of eunuchs filed in carrying trays outside the Fengtian Palace. There are new treasure notes in each tray, and the number corresponds to the salary of hundreds of officials.
All the officials were surprised when they heard that the emperor said that treasure notes were not afraid of water. Treasure notes are printed on paper. Is there any paper in the world that is not afraid of water?
When Baiguan saw the treasure banknotes in the tray, he was suddenly surprised. This treasure banknote was really different from the previous ones. Although it is much smaller than the previous ones, the color of this treasure note is completely different from the previous ones.
Li Shanchang led the supervisory censor and stood a little further forward than the six ministers. With Li Shanchang's reputation as the second most meritorious official, it is natural that the six ministers cannot compare with him.
Without hesitation, Li Shanchang reached out and picked up his salary. As soon as the treasure note was in his hand, Li Shanchang felt something strange, "This paper... seems to be a little different."
After taking a closer look, he exclaimed: "The lines are slender and exquisite, as if they were carved by needles. It's really breathtaking."
