Gao Xin smiled and said: "Did the emperor forget that the envoys from the Three Kingdoms wanted to exchange the tribute gifts into treasure notes and take them back, and the emperor personally agreed."
Being exposed in front of others, Lao Zhu was naturally a little unhappy, and said expressionlessly: "Of course I won't forget it. But this treasure is not enough for Ming Dynasty to use for his own use. I'm afraid I don't have any extra for them. If they want it, just give it to them first." Wait, when Ming Dynasty has enough treasure money, it will not be too late to give it to them. Gao Aiqing should follow the previous practice and prepare some silk, tea, and porcelain as return gifts."
I have never seen such a shameless person.
Gao Xin looked at Lao Zhu with a shocked look on his face. He could even regret the words he said in person. What does not having enough money mean? Even if the treasure money is not enough now, with the size of the Ming Dynasty, it can squeeze out what the Three Kingdoms need with just a squeeze. The so-called not enough is just an excuse that the emperor doesn't want to give. Whether the treasure money is enough is just a matter of Lao Zhu's words, but this excuse leaves Gao Xin with no reason to refute.
Sure enough, this world does not belong to young people, nor does it belong to old people, but to those with thick skin.
Gao Xin wanted to say something more, but was dismissed by Lao Zhu with a wave of his hand.
Gao Xin had no choice but to leave Fengtian Palace angrily, shaking his head and sighing all the way back to his house.
As soon as they entered the lobby, the three envoys stood up immediately and hurriedly greeted them.
Asked: "Master Shangshu, how is the matter? Has the emperor agreed?"
Gao Xin shook his head and sighed, slowly walked to the main seat and sat down.
When the three of them saw Gao Xin's expression, their hearts suddenly sank, and they all had a bad premonition.
Sure enough, Gao Xin sighed and said: "The emperor refused because Ming Dynasty's current treasure money is not enough."
The guess was confirmed, and the expressions of the three of them suddenly became ugly.
The Siamese envoy couldn't help but said: "How can the emperor go back on his words?"
Hearing this, Gao Xin's face darkened and he shouted sternly: "Please be careful what you say, envoy. The emperor naturally promised to give you treasure banknotes, but he did not promise to give you any treasure banknotes. Do you want the previous treasure banknote messenger? If the envoy wants it, If so, I will make arrangements for the envoy immediately."
Who would want the old treasure banknotes?
The reason why they want the treasure money is that they want to take it back and use it as money. It's not like they haven't brought back treasure banknotes in the past, but those kinds of treasure banknotes were so shoddily made that even if they were brought back, they would become blurred and tattered within a short time. Therefore, they only brought it back twice and then stopped bringing it back. It would be better to bring back copper coins than bring that kind of treasure money back. After all, although copper coins are heavier and difficult to carry back, they are durable. Bringing back a copper coin can be used for decades, which is still a good deal.
"The foreign minister made a mistake, please forgive me."
Seeing that the Siamese envoy immediately apologized, Gao Xin's expression softened a little. Although he seemed to be familiar with these envoys, he went to the emperor to speak for them. But that doesn't mean they can slander the emperor in front of Gao Xin.
"How about you just follow the emperor's instructions and bring some silk and tea back this time. How about you bring them back when the Ming Dynasty has enough money?" Gao Xin didn't know anything about business and didn't understand it at all. Why are these people holding on to the treasure?
In his opinion, since he can't take away treasure money, what does it matter if he brings some silk and tea back as before? Anyway, Ming Dynasty didn't give them a penny less as a gift in return, so they didn't suffer any loss.
But for the three of them, it’s not that they will suffer losses if they make money, but they will suffer losses if they make less money.
They can see how good the new treasure notes issued by the Ming Dynasty are. Even in a place as prosperous as Ming Dynasty, such treasure banknotes can actually cause a sensation among people.
Even though the treasure banknotes only increased five times in the Ming Dynasty, once such treasure banknotes were brought back by them, it would be possible for them to increase ten or twenty times.
So how could they just give up? How could it be possible to go back with a cart full of tea and porcelain, clanging and clattering?
Seeing the looks on these people's faces, Gao Xin knew that what he just said was in vain. It's just that he can't help much in this matter now, and he doesn't want to get too involved. If he can help them say something in front of the emperor today, it will be worthy of their filial piety.
Gao Xin didn't want to care about the others and couldn't care about them, so they picked up their teacups to see off the guests.
The three of them had no choice but to leave angrily.
After they reluctantly asked to see the emperor to no avail, they had no choice but to find Han Du again.
This time the Ministry of Rites took a more direct approach, not even sending an official to take care of the situation. He directly provided them with a room and allowed them to talk to Han Du on their own.
Han Du was very happy to see the three of them again, because he knew that he had the upper hand.
The three of them got straight to the point when they met, because they all knew that it was no longer a matter of whether to give the treasure banknotes to Han Du, but about the conditions under which Han Du could give them the treasure banknotes.
The three of them looked at each other, and finally it was the Korean envoy who spoke on their behalf.
As soon as they came up, the Koryo envoy began to make misery, "Sir, we are a small country in Goryeo with few people. The people's life is already difficult. Why don't you be more generous? Five times is too high. Let's triple it. How about three times? Sir, just You are holding your noble hand high, but you have pity on the people of our country.”
If you take the treasure back, it has nothing to do with your people.
Han Du didn't believe that the treasure money they took back would fall into the hands of ordinary people. Even in the Ming Dynasty, the current treasure banknotes are not accessible to ordinary people. The treasure banknotes worth one thousand dollars have been sold to five thousand dollars. Will ordinary people have the chance to get the treasure banknotes? The current treasure money has not fallen into the hands of those businessmen.
If people want to really see the treasure banknotes, they have to wait until the value of the treasure banknotes drops back to their face value.
These envoys took the treasure money back, not for the common people, but for the dignitaries. Regardless of the fact that the treasure banknotes only have one denomination, as long as things are rare and valuable, they can use the treasure banknotes with the same denomination as ten or twenty coins.
This is like US dollars and RMB. Why is it one to seven? Why can't it be one to one? To put it bluntly, isn’t it just a matter of artificial pricing from the beginning?
If I am strong and you are weak, then the pricing power is in my hands. If I say one to seven, then it must be one to seven. Even if you don't agree, I have a hundred ways to force you to agree.
The Ming Dynasty is now stronger than the vassal countries, so Handu will naturally find a way to hold this pricing power in his hands. If these envoys were allowed to take the treasure back, wouldn't they be giving up the pricing power to them? How much do they say when they go back?
